


Master Pretender

by UnparalleledAngel



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Actual smut will be skippable, Affairs, Anal Sex, Cheating, Eventual Smut, Hand Jobs, M/M, Masturbation, Multiple Orgasms, References to Sex, SMUT TAGS:, Scandal, Sexual Fantasy, Swearing, Talking about sex is throughout, pillow humping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2018-10-20 02:21:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 84,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10652943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnparalleledAngel/pseuds/UnparalleledAngel
Summary: Mettaton has one flaw that he always succumbs to- telling himself that fame comes before anything else. He’s not leaving his friends behind anymore. He’s told himself he’s doing good. But Mettaton’s way of “doing good” in life is getting into a relationship with someone he can barely stand. Because hey, being with this A-list celebrity would do wonders for his career. It doesn’t matter if this guy is a top-tier jerk who only ever seems interested in sex…He’s convinced himself that he can spend his life with this guy because he doesn’tneedto be with someone for love. He has enough love for himself. He’s… alright!Well, that’s what he thinks until Papyrus comes along and makes him question everything.Papyrus is so lovely, but he can’t split up with this guy. His career would be in jeopardy.There’s only one option. And that involves them both...





	1. The Kindness of Strangers

There are people on the surface all the humans want to be. Or, alternatively, someone all the humans want to be _with_.

Famous superstar, Danny Godfrey, was one of these people.

He was a world-famous actor that many adored for his smouldering looks and "God-like" body. These features practically had all of his viewers swooning as soon as he appeared on screen. His portrayal of deep characters was flawless, always convincing the audience to shed a tear by a single word or melancholic look. By all of his fans’ opinions, he, himself, must be just as deep and complex as these characters made him out to be.

But they couldn't be further from the mark.

In fact, off set, Danny was one of the most uninteresting people anyone could possibly have the misfortune of knowing. His conversations ended abruptly when he deemed you beneath him and his interests were limited to how much money he was making and how he could show this off to everyone else.

And, perhaps the most tragic fact of them all, Mettaton was engaged to him.

It had been a spur of the moment thing. Something that happened in the heat of a second. One moment he was single and dating a hot celebrity, next he was engaged to a dull jerk.

He seemed lovely at the beginning. All romance. Posh restaurants and expensive gifts. All too quickly Mettaton was caught up in the frenzy and when Danny got down on one knee, it seemed he couldn’t possibly say no.

Of course, a celebrity wedding would do brilliantly for publicity. Mettaton and Danny’s fans alike were all incredibly excited for it. They were always being invited to interviews and celebrity talk shows- everybody just had to find out more about this incredible relationship. The realtionship between the sexy, charasmatic, robot star and the handsome, articulate, human celebrity was something nobody had seen before, and they were desperate to know everything they could about it. Sure, a lot of people were interested because of the novelty of the situation, but many more were almost obsessed with the relationship, perhaps even more so than the couple themselves. They even had to move house a couple of times just to escape the paparazzi. Gladly, they had the money to spare. And it was Mettaton who forked out the money for the latest house, a fact that he never let lie.

“Darling, did you want anything to drink? You must have had such a stressful day at work,” Mettaton called over to him from the kitchen. Their mansion was huge and the rooms were large enough to house an army, Mettaton really had to shout over to him on the sofa so he could be heard.

When he didn’t get a reply, Mettaton shrugged, pouring himself a glass of wine. He wasn’t sure what wine it was, whether it was very expensive or not, but if it got him drunk, he’d be pleased.

He sauntered over to Danny on the sofa, looking over his form- hunched over a laptop with a grumpy-looking expression. Mettaton sat down next to him, taking a small sip from his glass and turning the television on.

Without looking up, Danny frowned. “Is that my wine?”

Mettaton chuckled, “It might be. Though, it’s in my house so it’s technically mine.”

Danny’s expression didn’t change. His eyes stayed ever-locked on his laptop screen.

“I thought you wouldn’t mind,” Mettaton raised a brow. He didn’t care either way, he’d drink whatever he wanted in his own house. Though, he was still a little annoyed that Danny seemed to think differently.

He grunted, still not looking up, “You could ask. That stuff’s expensive.”

Mettaton rolled his eyes, looking at the television screen and taking a larger drink from his glass.

“Hey, look, I’m sorry,” Danny was looking at him, finally, “Drink what you want, I’m just a little stressed recently. You know how it is...”

Mettaton shrugged, and then softened his gaze, “Yeah, I get it. You just... relax. I’m going out,” He took a large gulp of wine and left the empty glass on the table. An action that made Danny wince.

“You’re going out?”

“Unless you had anything planned for us?”

Danny hesitated, looked at Mettaton and then back to his laptop. “I got a lot to do tonight.”

Mettaton nodded. “Mm-hmm, like most nights.”

“Well, if you came back around eleven, we could always...” He looked over Mettaton’s body lasciviously and lay a hand on his thigh, squeezing slightly.

Mettaton pulled his leg away and stood up. “I’m not in the mood,” He stated simply. Barely looking at him. “I might stay at a friend’s tonight. So I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Ah, maybe not. I have guests over tomorrow, so I’ll be busy. But feel free to come and schmooze. It should be good for publicity.”

Mettaton squinted, pulling on his coat, “Wasn’t you going to take me out tomorrow? You did say-”

“Something came up. You know how it is, Mettaton.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

~~~

Like Mettaton usually did when he was seeking counsel, he went to Alphys’ house. Though today he didn’t really want to know what she thought about the matter, he already knew she was against all of it. He just needed someone to listen to him complain for a while. Whether she would be able to do that, Mettaton wasn’t sure.

“I just don’t get it, Alphys. Why does he never have any free time? Oh, and even then, he still manages to set time aside for sex, doesn’t he?” Mettaton groaned, lying his head on Alphys’ shoulder, “And the sex isn’t even good.”

Alphys shrugged, “I don’t know w-what to say, Mettaton. You’re getting married to him. I-I still think it’s a bad idea.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter about that. The marriage will do wonders for my career. Just you watch-”

“Aren’t you famous enough?” Alphys asked, incredulously. Mettaton was already a household name. Everyone knew him. Everyone loved him. Why did he always need more?

“No such thing, darling. Celebrities can fall out of fame in a heartbeat. I have to stay on top. And marrying Danny will get me into any film I want, will have my albums selling so fast they’ll be flying out of the store-”

Alphys shook her head, “I can’t believe you’re getting married for... fame! It’s insane!”

“C’mon, Alph, It’s not that big of a deal- only marriage, I’ve sacrificed more in my life- remember that time I had to give away my yacht for a business deal?”

She pushed him off of her arm, then, looking at him like she couldn't believe what he was telling her. “This isn’t s-some ‘business deal’, Mettaton.”

“It was pink.”

“Th-that’s against the point!”

“Look, I don’t see what all the fuss is about,” Mettaton huffed, crossing his arms.

“It’s not like you can just divorce him after- it’s not that simple!”

Mettaton looked aghast. “Well, of course, I can’t just divorce him! Imagine the damage that would do to my career!”

Alphys looked at him like she was one step away from throttling him. How could he be so stupid? Mettaton was so intelligent and yet when it came to his own happiness, it was like he did everything in his power to sabotage it each time.

“Mettaton...”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Mettaton cut her off, turning away from her. “I’m not a kid. I don’t need someone dictating how to live my life. I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you?”

Mettaton didn’t reply but Alphys could hear him take a deep breath. Could see, even, his chest rise and fall slowly as he let out that shuddering exhale, but he didn’t look around at her. He kept his gaze on the same point in front of him. Staring intently at nothing.

“I think so.”

“Mettaton- that’s not good enou-”

She was cut off by a sound coming from her laptop. She was getting a skype call and Mettaton guessed it was from her girlfriend, Undyne. They seemed to be talking non-stop recently, much to Mettaton’s contempt. He couldn’t stand the woman. Undyne’s constant pestering and teasing annoyed him to no end, but something about seeing how great their relationship was made him feeling something that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. It was like they were perfect for each other and Mettaton couldn’t help but feel slightly dejected from it.

Alphys hesitated in answering, looking at Mettaton cautiously.

“Answer it, then,” He insisted, stretching his lips forcibly across his teeth in a smile so she’d be assured that he was okay.

“O-okay,” She picked her laptop up and pulled it onto her lap, looking at the screen with a smile equally as strained as Mettaton’s.

“Hey, Undyne!” She chimed, waving at the screen.

Mettaton rolled his eyes. Of course it was Undyne.

“HEY! HOW’S MY FAVOURITE GIRL?” Undyne yelled. Mettaton couldn’t quite see the screen from where he’d scooted on the other side of the sofa, but he could hear the distinct noise of something breaking in the background.

“I’m okay! Mettaton’s around, want to say hi?”

Undyne quietened then and Alphys swivelled the laptop around so it was facing Mettaton, to which Mettaton groaned.

“Hello, Undyne,” He said, sounding more like a statement than a greeting.

“Hey, ya dumb pile of bolts! What’re doing with my girlfriend?” She yelled, jokingly.

If Mettaton was in his normal mood, he’d have laughed along and boasted he was taking part in some illicit affair with her but this time, he just rolled his eyes.

“Alph, what’s up with him?”

Alphys turned the laptop back towards herself, “Erm... i-it’s personal,”

“Well... alright? I was calling because I wanted to ask you out... Did you have some free time tomorrow? You could come over to mine and we could watch movies? ONLY THE BEST MOVIES FOR MY GIRL! And, also, the cheapest- because there was a sale in store and I bought a load of DVDs...”

“O-oh, actually-”

She looked at Mettaton sheepishly. He’d been intending to spend the day with her tomorrow, wanting to avoid Danny’s pretentious friends. He could chat with those kinds of people when he needed to for business. Not when he was supposed to be enjoying the comfort of his own home. He couldn’t stand being around them for too long.

“It’s fine, Alphys. Go out to your girlfriend’s. I’ll find something else to do,” Mettaton sighed, supposing that he couldn’t get in the way of her relationship just because he didn’t want to deal with his own.

“Y-you’re sure? We’re just watching movies- I’m sure Undyne wouldn’t mind if you-” She looked at the laptop screen and saw Undyne shaking her head fervently. She disliked Mettaton just as much as he disliked her.

Mettaton, thinking the same thing, dismissed Alphys’ offer, “No, I don’t want to be a third wheel with you and... Undyne. I’ll just spend time tomorrow with Danny and his... friends. I’m sure they’ll only be around for a little while anyway,” He lied, knowing too well that they’d be there for hours, drinking all of Danny’s alcohol that was too expensive for Mettaton to touch and leaving their greasy hands all over his furniture whilst making rude remarks about his taste. Yeah, tomorrow was going to be great.

If they got too annoying, Mettaton could always kick them out. He couldn’t get out of his engagement but he could sure as hell tell a load of conceited bastards to get out of his house.

Mettaton would die before he let anyone walk all over him.

“Can I at least stay here tonight?” Mettaton requested, trying his hardest not to sound needy but failing miserably.

Alphys didn’t like the thought of leaving him when he needed someone, but she knew he was stubborn and wouldn’t forgive her if she stayed in instead of going out with Undyne for him. At least she could keep him around for the night.

“Of course you can, I’ve downloaded an entire series of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie that we can watch together!” She informed him, excitedly.

Mettaton quirked his brow quizzically, “Huh, you know what? I’m going home.”

Alphys laughed “You don’t mean that.”

Mettaton laughed with her, though a little bitterly.

He thought of his options. Watch a terrible anime with his best friend or go home to whatever sour mood his fiancé is in. Even worse if he’s in a _good_ mood.

Alphys saw his face drop as he thought. “What do you see in him?”

Mettaton broke from his contemplation and looked at her. “He has his moments. He’s really not as bad as you think.”

“You complain about him at every given moment.”

“Isn’t that what couples are like?”

“Not ones about to get married. Y-you’re supposed to be happy.”

“I _am_ happy,” He insisted.

“What is it you’re happy about? Marrying him or the fame?”

Mettaton rolled his eyes and scoffed, “What’s the difference?”

They went silent. Alphys couldn’t believe what he was saying. She hoped beyond hope that he’d be able to hear how ridiculous he was being but he seemed so stuck with this plan that he’d blinded himself.

Had he really convinced himself that his happiness could be traded in to do better at his career? Marriage wasn’t a business deal. It was life.

Though, Mettaton was so stuck in the mindset that his life _was_ fame that he’d left living behind.

~~~

“You’re home late,”

“Yes, darling. I told you I was staying at a friend’s house,”

Mettaton had returned at around noon the next day. Alphys had let him use her bathroom to do all the necessary preening and perfecting he did each day. Make-up was a long process and it always took him a while, but today it took him even longer, just to prolong going home.

At long last, he told himself to stop being so pathetic. He wasn’t about to let Danny keep him out of his own house.

“I missed you last night,” Danny drawled. He was wearing a white shirt and blue jeans. An outfit most of his fans would faint at seeing.

Mettaton’s ear pricked up at hearing this, “You did?”

The robot sashayed into the kitchen, about to make himself something to eat. He hadn’t eaten anything at all at Alphys’ because he knew all the good food was at his house. And plus, his house had more alcohol to wash it down with.

“Mm-hmm,” Danny hummed, appearing behind him suddenly, wrapping his arms around his waist.

Mettaton chuckled, “Someone’s in a good mood.” He stopped what he was doing and leant back into Danny’s embrace, hoping he’d been through a complete personality change through the night.

“I just... missed you,” He bent down and kissed Mettaton’s neck, nibbling slightly at the synthetic flesh.

 _Oh,_ Mettaton thought as he realised what Danny’s motives were, _that’s what he wants._

“Maybe, to make up for the fact that I missed you... we could go to the bedroom?”

_And there it is._

“Sorry, honey... I’m not really in the mood. Maybe later.”

Danny grunted and pulled away from his neck, leaving him in the kitchen alone. He soon returned to his usual place on the sofa, eyes fixed on his laptop.

Mettaton looked at him from his spot in the kitchen, his eyebrows narrowed.

“Hey, if you have some spare time- maybe we could go out somewhere?” Mettaton asked hopefully.

“Nah, I don’t really have time right now,”

Mettaton shot him a look angry enough to injure. _Oh? So you have time for sex but not to take me out somewhere? Fine._ He huffed, going around the kitchen and slamming drawers and cupboards loudly and unnecessarily to get the hint across to his fiancé that he _wasn’t_ happy.

And then he realised his mistake. He probably had time for sex because he expected it to last just a couple of minutes anyway.

He sighed. Of course, that was it.

~~~

Before too long, Danny’s “friends” were round. Normally, Mettaton enjoyed talking about money, fame and showing-off but these really weren’t his kind of people. They were loud and brash, thought they knew everything and were incredibly narcissistic.

They were just like Mettaton but without the charm.

Mettaton knew how to talk to make others fall in love with him. These guys only repelled people unless they were as “superior” as them. Just a little humbleness never did anyone any harm, in Mettaton’s opinion.

At least when he called Undyne or Alphys “below him” he (usually) did so as a joke.

These guys were the real deal.

“Yes, we’ve just finished paying for our latest helicopter. This one’s pink leopard print and we call it Jazzy, don’t we, darling?”

Mettaton cringed at the use of his usual term and turned to look at the woman speaking. She was stick-thin with bleached blonde hair and a dress so tight Mettaton worried all her assets were about to spill out of it at any moment. Mettaton didn’t mind looking sexy, but this woman did so to the point of tacky.

She had her arms linked with another man. This guy also had blond hair that was scraped back so flat, it barely looked like he had hair at all. His suit was all white, including his tie and shoes. Mettaton had to commend him on his effort, at least.

He knew he was still the most attractive person in the room. He saw people stealing glances every now and then. His suit was just plain black with a pink tie, but he still commanded attention just by his mannerisms and small quirks in his delicate expressions. He had a face you could watch talk for hours and not hear a word he was saying.

“Well, _darling_ ,” Mettaton started, feeling the need to repeat his signature word properly, “Buying helicopters is all fine and good but don’t you want to leave some room for all of your unused and useless private jets?” Mettaton joked.

The woman let out a shrill laugh that made Mettaton’s ears ring, “Oh, don’t you worry. We keep the private jets in a different location to the helicopters.”

“Of course you do.”

“Mettaton, a word?” Danny called from the other side of the room. He was leaning against the wall with a glass of whisky in his hand. He looked incredibly brooding the way he was stood all alone. Mettaton wondered what he could possibly want from him now.

Mettaton stepped over to him, smiling subtly as he approached, “What is it, honey?”

Danny smiled back at him, though Mettaton couldn’t help but notice it looked a little forced.

“You seem to be mocking my guests at any chance you get.”

Mettaton chuckled, “It’s not like they have the brains to realise.”

“Still, these are people I respect. Can’t you just be a little nicer?” Danny requested, frustration evident in his voice.

Mettaton sighed, “Danny, they love me no matter how I talk to them. I just like to have my fun. Talking to these people is like watching paint dry.”

“Okay, how about,” He slipped an arm around Mettaton’s waist, “I come and help you out.”

“Well, they are _your_ guests.” Mettaton wasn’t entirely sure why he’d been left alone to chat with them anyway. He wasn’t even supposed to be here today.

“They are my guests, yes. But I want them to like you.”

Danny started walking slowly, directing the two of them back to the guests.

“They already do.”

“And I want you to like them.”

“Well, darling, that may be a challenge.”

Danny stopped and looked at him. “You could try.”

When Mettaton didn’t answer and just looked ahead of him, obviously in a bad mood, Danny just carried on walking again.

When they got back to the group, Danny flashed a charming smile at them all and they all greeted him.

“Danny, I’ve been waiting to talk to you,” An old looking man started. He had a tweed suit and wispy white hair. He looked like he’d arrived straight from some old-fashioned British drama.

“Yes, Hargreave?”

Mettaton tried not to snicker at the name. Who the hell was this guy? An old English gent?

Danny’s arm was still around Mettaton’s waist and his hand squeezed him slightly when he felt his stifled laughter. Just to remind him that he was trying to win these people over, not insult them.

“Well, I wondered whether you’d give us a little hint as to what you were planning to do next. Any projects?”

Danny smiled again, showing off his almost unnaturally white teeth. “I’m actually starring in a new show soon. It’s a combined project Mettaton and I have been working on. It’s kind of based on our life together...”

 _Our life, but a million times more romantic,_ Mettaton grumbled internally.

“...It’s going to be like, a comedy, romance and drama all in one. The audience will eat it up,” Danny carried on, having the rest of the group transfixed by him talking. Every head was turned towards him.

Mettaton decided to speak up whilst everyone’s attentions were gathered, “The fans will love it. It will be like having a glimpse into our life and that’s always something people are interested in.”

“Of course!” Hargreave agreed with him, nodding along with his words. “The fans are the most important.”

Mettaton smiled. This was something he could finally get behind. “They are!”

“Because they’re the ones bringing the money in.”

“Oh.”

The room burst into laughter and Mettaton tried his best to join in.

The woman in the tight dress chortled. “I absolutely _hate_ when a fan approaches me in public. Can’t they get a life instead of harassing me? Like, honestly, if you’re not going to give me money then what’s the point?” And then, everyone started laughing again, agreeing with her.

Mettaton felt something in his gut twist but chose to ignore it and bite his tongue.

For around five seconds.

“Quite honestly, I find that disgusting,”

“ _Mettaton_ ,” Danny hissed, all heads turned to him in shock, but Mettaton wasn’t finished.

“Why are you all in showbiz if you don’t care about your fans? Believe me, I know how nice the money is- but at least I appreciate where it’s coming from, unlike all of you.”

The room was silent. They hadn’t been expecting this, up until now, they’d assumed Mettaton was just like them. Sure he was vain, self-absorbed and money-loving, but he loved his fans and he had a passion for what he did, which is more than can be said for these people.

“Mettaton- can I have a word with you for a moment?” Danny asked, his voice was low but could be heard throughout the room due to the silence.

“No, save it. I’m going out. I need some fresh air.”

“You don’t have to do that! C’mon, honey, just say sorry- you were joking, right?” Danny looked around at his guests, “I’m sure if you just apologise for your little outburst they’ll forgive you.”

Mettaton raised a brow at him and then turned to pick up his coat and opened the door, “You can shove your forgiveness, darling.”

The door slammed.

~~~

Mettaton knew he’d probably have to apologise eventually. He’d embarrassed Danny in front of people he needed approval from. He wasn’t entirely sure if Danny liked them either, but he liked to be on good terms with everyone. Mettaton didn’t care who he was on good terms with. The only person he needed to be famous was himself. And Danny, of course. Being with him was certainly helping his career- especially with the new show starting. Danny was the key to his success and that’s what he chose to keep his mind on.

Mettaton didn’t even know where he was going. When he left the house he immediately realised that he’d done what he’d promised himself he wouldn’t- he’d let them walk all over him in his own home. And now they were in his home and he was outside.

He sighed, maybe if he just went to Alphys’, the offer to hang out with her and Undyne was still there. He could always go into town but he was still angry from the interaction at the house and decided against it.

If he went shopping he’d end up anger-buying and becoming bankrupt.

So he set off towards Alphys’, his steps sped up by the fury of being forced to leave his own house.

He barely even noticed when a small white dog started running up the street towards him.

“STOP THAT DOG!” A loud, urgent voice called and Mettaton stopped, saw the dog and, with his sharp reflexes, scooped it up into his arms as soon as it approached him.

“Oh, aren’t you cute?” Mettaton asked it, holding it out in front of him to take a better look, “What’s that in your mouth? Is that a bone?”

Running up frantically, just moments later, a tall skeleton man arrived, looking incredibly thankful that Mettaton had caught the dog.

“Does this belong to you?” Mettaton asked, about to give the dog to him.

The skeleton stopped, holding his hands out in front of him, “No! But _that_ does,” He took the bone out of the dog’s mouth “It’s a part of my collection I-” For the first time, he got a proper look at who he was talking to and the skeleton paused, eyes going wide.

“Oh! My God! You’re him! Mettaton!”

“The one and only, darling,” Mettaton smiled. He didn’t know how a skeleton could look so expressive but this guy’s face looked like he’d just seen the most precious thing in the world.

“I’m such a big fan! Your shows are my favourite- even when you were in the underground- I loved your sexy rectangle body... Wait- I mean, n-not sexy, that’s not what I meant to say- Handsome! Not that I’m saying that it _wasn’t_ sexy- it was! But we’ve only just met and that probably wasn’t appropriate. Also, I didn’t mean to say that _this_ body _isn’t_ sexy either. Y-your body is very attractive-”

Mettaton stood amused, a smile creeping onto his face as he listened to this unusual skeleton dig himself into a deeper and deeper hole, knowing that he should probably stop him at some point.

He did like hearing about how sexy his body was, though.

“Okay, darling, what’s your name?” He asked finally, helping the skeleton change the subject.

“Oh! How rude of me! My name is Papyrus! Though, many like to call me The Great Papyrus, because I am!” He announced proudly. His words sounded vain but his smile was incredibly earnest, making curiosity niggle into Mettaton’s brain. He couldn’t quite put thought to why this guy seemed so interesting, but he wanted to find out more.

But before that- he should focus on the problem in front of him.

“So, who’s dog is this? Does it have an owner?” Mettaton looked down at the dog in his arms, worrying that its white fur would cover his black coat if he held it much longer. He held it out at arm’s length just to prevent any more shedding.

“No, not that I know of! Though, if it does they should be ashamed of themselves for letting it run loose so often and cause havoc for me!” Papyrus shook his head, looking at the dog with disdain.

“Wait- so it’s a stray?!” Mettaton put it down then, watching it scamper off. “It could be diseased! It could have fleas- ugh, I hope I haven’t caught anything.”

Papyrus shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry too much- that dog always looks well-kept and fed. I think someone must be looking after it- my suspicions are on my brother...”

Mettaton stopped in the midst of his concerns to chuckle at this. “He likes to annoy you?”

“Don’t even get me started on how my brother annoys me! He seems to go out of his way to get on my nerves! Last week he went out to the store to buy groceries and came back with a bag full of novelty slinky toys with eyes... and nothing else!”

Mettaton laughed. “Sounds aggravating!”

“It is!”

They locked eye contact for a moment and then looked away, tittering lightly.

Papyrus looked at Mettaton’s coat then, gasping when he saw it, “Your coat has fur on it! That won’t do- you always look so perfect! I’m sorry I asked you to pick it up- I just didn’t want to lose this,” He gestured to the bone in his hand, “That dog often steals my things- thank you for catching it, by the way!”

“Oh, you’re welcome, sweetheart,” Mettaton said but was now preoccupied with his coat. That would take a long while to get all the hairs off- and he couldn’t be seen wandering around the streets like this. It was unthinkable! What if someone saw?

He started picking the hairs off and Papyrus noticed- “Why don’t you let me help?”

Mettaton looked at him quizzically, “Help?” Did he mean help picking the hairs off? Wouldn’t that be a little close for comfort?

“Well my house is only around the corner- I have one of those sticky pet hair roller things! It would be much easier than just picking off the hairs one by one.”

Mettaton thought about it. If he had any sort of sense he’d turn down this guy’s offer. He probably shouldn’t be going into his fan’s homes at their request just because they seemed nice. What if he was a psychopath? But there was something so earnest and sweet about this skeleton that he found himself agreeing. He couldn’t go around in a coat covered in dog hairs after all. Surely, it was his only option.

“Okay, darling. Lead the way!”

~~~

When they arrived at Papyrus’ house, Mettaton was pleasantly impressed by the size of it. It wasn’t a mansion by any means but it wasn’t disappointing either. He wondered curiously where “The Great Papyrus” worked but was interrupted before he could ask.

“Mettaton! Wait here just a moment whilst I go retrieve the pet hair remover!” He bounded up the stairs before stopping and calling back down, “Oh- and make yourself at home! Sit on the sofa, watch TV, eat my food- in fact, take anything you want, I don’t mind.”

Mettaton laughed at his enthusiasm and wondered whether he was so giving to all of his guests. He doubted it, after all, it wasn’t every day your guest was an A-list celebrity.

Instead of “taking” any of Papyrus’ property, Mettaton sat down, unbuttoning his coat and setting it down beside him, trying not to get the dog hairs onto any of the furniture. Papyrus’ house seemed to be kept quite neat so he didn’t want to disturb that. Not that Papyrus would mind, of course.

The skeleton soon returned from upstairs with a pet hair roller in his hand, jogging towards him blithely. Now they were out of the sunlight, Mettaton could get a proper look at him- his outfit was adorable. A little unorthodox, he had to admit, but Mettaton could appreciate his style. He was wearing a red crop top with a lace skull that looked like Papyrus had sewn it to the front himself and small shorts that barely covered his hips.

He was, admittedly, quite cute. Very cute, in fact. It was an undeniable fact! Just because Mettaton was engaged didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate a cute skeleton every now and then, right? That’s what he told himself anyway.

“Okay! If you just give me your coat I will de-hairy-fy it! Hairs will be no more!” Papyrus picked the coat up from the sofa when he spotted it and sat down by Mettaton, beginning to use the roller to take the hairs off.

“Is that dog really around so much that you had to buy a pet hair remover?” Mettaton asked, trying not to sound too amused.

Papyrus sighed, “I sometimes even wake up and it’s in bed with me.”

A lascivious smirk pulled at Mettaton’s mouth. “Yes, of all the things to find in your bed when you wake up- a dog is probably the least favourable.”

Papyrus’ smile didn’t disappear but a small blush crept across his cheekbones as he realised what Mettaton meant. He was making risqué jokes! It was just like in his shows except- in his home! Papyrus couldn’t believe his luck. He kept his eyes trained on the coat he was de-hairing. If he looked at Mettaton right now he might just faint.

“So!” Papyrus started, wanting to keep the conversation going, “Where were you heading before I bumped into you? I hope you aren’t late for anything!”

Mettaton shook his head. “No, I’m not late for anything. I was just heading to my friend, Alphys’ house.”

Papyrus’ eyes narrowed. “Isn’t she on a date with Undyne right now?”

Mettaton raised his eyebrows, shocked that he knew that. Had he been spying on him? Was he actually a crazy fan that knew everything about his and his friend’s lives? He looked around, quickly planning his route for a swift exit.

“Though, Undyne did mention something about you wanting to come around during their date, if I remember correctly- I’m actually surprised we haven’t met sooner, Mettaton!”

Mettaton was still confused, “How do you know Alphys and Undyne?”

“Undyne is my best friend! We’re together all the time!”

“Ohhh,” Mettaton said with realisation, bemused by how close they were without realising it. He always tried to avoid Undyne as much as possible so it wasn’t incredibly shocking that he hadn’t met Undyne’s friend.

When Papyrus had finished cleaning Mettaton’s coat, he handed it back to him, happy with his work.

“There- good as new!”

“Thank you, Papyrus. Maybe I should get going now,” Mettaton took his coat, hesitating to stand up, “...unless you wouldn’t mind chatting a little more. I’ve enjoyed talking to you.”

“Of course you can! I’d be happy to talk more.” Papyrus smiled at him, settling back into the sofa and crossing his legs. Papyrus looked at him intently, like everything about him was enchanting.

Mettaton smiled at him. “God, you’re cute,” He let out, covering his mouth as soon as he said it.

Papyrus blushed and looked away, trying to pretend he hadn’t heard it to spare Mettaton’s embarrassment but failed miserably. Papyrus couldn’t easily ignore a statement like that.

“I didn’t mean it like that I-” Mettaton began, trying his hardest to take his words back. He sighed finally, knowing there was no going back from that, “You’re cute. Honestly, darling. It’s just a statement. A fact! Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable...” Mettaton trailed off, feeling the warm atmosphere from a moment ago dissipate.

“You’re engaged!” Papyrus informed him, as if he’d forgotten.

“I know that-”

“Y-you can’t just flirt with any skeleton you meet,” He interjected, throwing his arms up in disbelief.

“Well, it wasn’t _really_ flirting-”

“You’re getting married!” He informed him again.

Mettaton was getting frustrated with assuring him- but mostly frustrated with himself for letting it happen. “Papyrus! Honey! Don’t worry about it! I was just saying-”

“You were saying that I was cute.”

“Well... yeah, I said that.”

“That’s flirting!”

Mettaton raised an eyebrow. “And you’d deny it? That you’re cute?”

This brought them both to a silence as Papyrus thought this through.

“I... wouldn’t... But that’s irrelevant! My charms have wooed you, sure, but there is no need to point them out in such a flirtatious manner.”

“Look, I’m sorry, Papyrus.”

Papyrus turned to look him in the eye, alarmed at the slight sound of hurt in his voice. It was uncharacteristic. So... un-Mettaton.

The robot looked back at him, shrugging. “Hey, maybe being flirty is just the way I talk to people. I really am dreadfully sorry for making you uncomfortable, darling, but... I’m not taking it back.” Mettaton stood, putting his coat on, deciding he should probably leave after that. “Saying you’re cute wasn’t me coming on to you. It was simply stating a fact.”

He walked to the door and Papyrus followed him, opening it for him out of politeness.

“And hey, what Danny doesn’t know can’t hurt him.” His lip quirked up in a strange smile, “It was nice meeting you, ‘The Great Papyrus’,” He teased, stepping through the door and looking back at him.

The skeleton turned away, trying his best to hide the flustered blush that beamed from his cheekbones once again. He’d never heard _someone else_ call him that before.

“I-it was nice meeting you too, Mettaton!” He managed to say, still tactically avoiding eye-contact.

“If luck was on our side, we’d meet again soon. We do have quite a close friend connection- oh and, no flirting next time,” Mettaton laughed, mostly at himself, “It would be nice to have someone else to talk to.”

Papyrus looked at him fully then. “I can talk whenever you want, Mettaton.”

“Until next time, whenever that will be.”

“Next time!”

After that, Mettaton flashed one more dazzling smile and left, waving as he walked around the corner.

As soon as the robot was out of sight, Papyrus closed the door and leant against it, feeling strangely breathless all of a sudden.

If luck was on _his_ side, he’d never meet Mettaton again. Turning down his flirting was the most difficult thing he’d ever done in his life.

~~~

As Mettaton headed back home, taking a long route and hoping Danny’s guests had left by now (if they hadn’t he’d promised himself he’d definitely kick them out) he began to think about Papyrus’ attitude earlier. He’d never seen someone act so dramatically about Mettaton talking a little flirty. Most people knew that was just how he spoke. His language was full of saucy compliments and risqué remarks. Surely a big fan like Papyrus said he was, knew this.

He really must be a man of morals. Someone who wouldn’t flirt with someone who’s taken, not even if he was the one being flirted with.

Mettaton had to commend him for it- there weren’t many fans that would object to it. In fact, by the way many people spoke to him, it seems they would happily sell their soul just to nab Mettaton away from his ‘beloved’ Danny.

Mettaton scoffed. _Beloved_ just didn’t feel right, yet it was how many people liked to describe their relationship, as if they knew all about them. At least when they got married it would all be worth it, Mettaton thought- everything will fall into place and he won’t regret a thing.

_Yeah! Everything will be absolutely perfect._

“Danny, honey! Have your awful guests gone to hell yet?” Mettaton called as he stepped through the door, seeing the living room was empty. “And don’t expect me to say sorry either. I don’t apologise for who I am,” He hollered again, yet to no reply.

Mettaton took his coat off and hung it on the rack, humming to himself.

_Maybe he’s upstairs..._

“Danny? You up here?” When he made it to the top step, he noticed the bedroom light was on.

Heading towards it, Mettaton briefly questioned whether he’d snuck one of the guests up there. And then he laughed, wondering if they’d find him as disappointing in bed as he usually did.

If he was cheating, though, he’d come down on him like a ton of bricks.

Opening the door, Mettaton saw a very inebriated Danny sat up on the bed with a bottle of wine in his hand, taking bountiful swigs.

Mettaton coughed to gather his attention and walked into the room, slamming the door behind him.

“Why’ve you got to be like that?” Danny asked, slurring slightly.

Mettaton sighed. “Like what?”

“So...”

He gestured vaguely at the robot and Mettaton sneered.

“If you don’t like me, why are you marrying me?” Mettaton asked, kicking his heels off as he spoke.

“Of course, I like you. But can’t you just be a little less... _you_ sometimes? At least when I have people over. You know how I have to appear to them.”

“So you want me to act?”

“I’d like that.”

“In my own house.”

“That’s where the guests are.”

Mettaton put his hands on his hips. “And did I invite them?”

“No, but your loving fiancé did.”

Mettaton rolled his eyes. “Tch, who’s that, then?”

They both looked at each other for a moment before Mettaton huffed and went to sit by him.

“It’s not that I don’t like you, Mettaton. I like you! I do!” Danny insisted, gesturing wildly with the hand that held the bottle of wine, letting a little spill on Mettaton. Disgruntled, Mettaton took a tissue from his pocket and mopped it up, groaning to himself. “You’re just a little frustrating to get along with sometimes. It can get... annoying.”

“Charming.”

“No- I mean, your personality.”

“Getting nicer.”

“God- see? The constant sarcasm, I can’t stand it,” He spat, taking another swig from the bottle.

Mettaton watched him drink, trying not to hear his words and telling himself that he didn’t mean it. It was the drink talking! He wasn’t usually like this. Well, he wasn’t usually much better either, but never outright insulting.

Mettaton stood up, walking slowly to the mirror and looking at himself in the reflection.

He was stunning, like always. He always knew he had that. He thought he had a good personality too- and he still thought that! He wouldn’t let some drunken words get to him.

No matter how much the word ‘annoying’ pushed it’s way to the front of his mind.

No, he wasn’t going to let it get to him.

“Hey, you wanna- you wanna, have some fun?” Danny sputtered, patting the bed next to him.

Mettaton clenched his fists and ground his teeth. “I said earlier, _I’m not in the mood_ , especially after what you just said-”

He turned to look at Danny, to let him have a piece of his mind, but saw he was already passed out on the bed.

“Fine. Have it your way, Danny-boy. But don’t think you’ve heard the end of this.”

You don’t get away with insulting Mettaton that easily. That’s what Mettaton thought anyway. Though, actually putting his thoughts into words always proved more difficult...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (cover illustration: everlasting-random-art.tumblr.com)
> 
> Alrighty, that was the first chapter! Mettaton seems to think marrying this guy will answer all life problems. He'll be rich and famous. People will love him.
> 
> But who's going to be there for _him_ to love?
> 
> Ah, he hasn't thought ahead that far yet.
> 
> I hope you liked it! More chapters are to come. Be expecting a little more of our favourite skeleton next!


	2. A Skeleton's Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems Papyrus can't get Mettaton out of his head and even if he could, he can't even go a day at work without seeing him. Why can't this soon-to-be-married man stay away? The mere thought of him is just too torturous. Seeing him in reality is never going to go Papyrus' way... is it?

“so... what you’re tellin’ me is- mettaton was in _this_ house?” Sans asked, shifting his position on the sofa slightly, looking disbelievingly at his brother.

“Yes! Mettaton was here yesterday!” Papyrus told him, nodding happily as he recalled the memory. If he closed his eyes he could still picture him sat there on the sofa with his beautiful smile and gorgeous eyes...

And, of course, how could he ever forget his blatant flirting?

“mettaton? _the_ mettaton? the guy on the tv?” Sans asked, still not convinced.

“ _The_ Mettaton, yes! I already said that.”

“in our house?”

“Sans! Of course- why aren’t you listening?” Papyrus asked, exasperated.

Sans shrugged and leant back into the sofa. “what was he doing here anyway? he just turn up for a social call or what?”

Papyrus shook his head. “I saw him on the street and that troublesome dog ran up to him and got dog hairs on his coat- I invited him over so I could help him clean it.” Papyrus pointedly left out the part where he’d requested Mettaton to catch the dog for him. He still felt a little embarrassed about that. If he knew it was Mettaton walking down the street he’d never have asked him to do anything- especially not deal with his canine problems. At least it started a conversation.

“and... that worked? he just came over?” 

“Yes, Sans, you know that- I already told you he came over,” Papyrus sighed. Why did he keep asking obvious questions?

“that’s a pick-up line i’ve never heard of before. ‘hey come over- i’ll clean your coat’. good one, paps, i’ll try to remember that one in future,” Sans said, a wry smile on his face.

Papyrus’ brow bone knit in confusion. “Pick-up line? Sans, I was just being friendly.”

“whatever you say, bro. i just know you have the hots for that guy, is all.”

Papyrus gasped, standing up and busying himself by re-arranging books on the bookshelf- only in an attempt to escape the conversation.

But Sans hadn’t given up just yet. “so you’re saying you _don’t_ think mettaton is hot? you’re honestly telling me that you wouldn’t get off with him if you had the chance?”

“Sans!” Papyrus scolded, not looking at him and facing the bookshelf. His burning cheekbones would give him away at once.

“hey, whatever- i’m not saying anythin’. he’s a good looking man- not really my type but i get it,” Sans nodded, “it’s simple, you wanna bang the robot.”

Papyrus swivelled around and looked at him intensely. “This conversation is over!” He declared, making for the door.

“where’re you going? you haven’t got work for another half-hour,” Sans said, turning to look at him.

“There’s no such thing as ‘too early’, Sans!” Papyrus informed him, really just wanting to be anywhere else but there at that moment. Was he really that easy to read? Papyrus thought he’d kept his feelings towards Mettaton to himself! And now he couldn’t help but wonder how many others knew.

~~~

Papyrus worked with Frisk. As the Monster’s ambassador to the humans, Frisk represented the monsters and attempted to attend every meeting and event they could to ensure monsters were treated fairly. As a thirteen-year-old kid, many thought Frisk wasn’t qualified for the role, that the monster royalty should have taken the job of representing monster-kind instead. However, since leaving the Underground, both Toriel and Asgore felt as though their ruling days were over. After having so many problems, abandoning kingdoms and attempting to wage war on human-kind, they felt that leaving the job to someone as diplomatic and sensible as Frisk was the best thing they could do.

They were good at their job too! Anyone who had any sense could see that. They had brilliant ideas when it came to improving the livelihood of monsters on the surface and the fact that the monster’s integration into human society had gone so smoothly could all be related back to Frisk. It didn’t even matter that they were still in school, because that was where Papyrus’ job came in.

Papyrus’ job was simply helping Frisk get from meeting to meeting, making sure they never missed an appointment and always checking to see that they weren’t overworking. Papyrus was so bright and enthusiastic about everything that it was good to have him at meetings too, as most people couldn’t help but agree with everything he said. And plus, he got to wear a suit! That was one of Papyrus’ favourite parts.

Frisk wasn’t surprised when Papyrus turned up at the house half an hour early. The skeleton always liked to be on time. 

He arrived in his sports car, beeping the horn to alert Frisk of his presence outside the house. Moments later, Frisk joined him, getting into the passenger seat. They looked sleepy.

“You look like you just woke up!” Papyrus informed them, hoping that wasn’t the case. “It’s 10 am! On a Saturday!” 

Frisk laughed and nodded. “I woke up an hour ago, but I’m still tired. Anyway, Sans says weekends are for sleeping,”

Papyrus grumbled, narrowing his eyes. “I wouldn’t take life advice from Sans, Frisk, next thing you know you’ll be starting a sock collection.” He started up the car, watching as Frisk put their seatbelt on.

“And a sock collection is bad?”

“It is if looking even remotely cool is important to you! Honestly, I don’t know what that skeleton would do if he didn’t have someone like me to look after him...” Papyrus said, his voice trailing off as his attentions focused on the road in front of him.

Frisk just chuckled, they had always found Papyrus and Sans’ relationship amusing. They both spoke of each other constantly, Sans to compliment his brother, and Papyrus to complain about his brother. But there was an equal amount of love on both sides. Frisk could tell.

“Hey, Papyrus? Could we have some music on?” Frisk asked, reaching over to turn on the radio.

“Sure!” Papyrus nodded, pointing at the buttons, “Pick any station you’d like!”

Frisk smiled, pressing the “on” button and hearing the voice of a man speaking.

“And now, for a brand new release by everyone’s favourite robot, it’s Mettaton!” The man on the radio said, followed by a song that was a strange combination of jazz and electronica, Mettaton’s soothing voice sounding like liquid as his vocals flowed through the song. His voice was entrancing to listen to. And the weird genre seemed to work too. It was the kind of music you could listen to for hours and not realise it, and Papyrus often found himself doing so.

Papyrus tapped his fingers on the wheel along to the song, humming quietly. Frisk watched him bemusedly. They knew he was a big fan of Mettaton, and they had just the surprise in store for him today.

“You know how we have that event to plan? The party with the humans and monsters?” Frisk asked, knowing Papyrus’ answer already.

“The party! The one we’ve been planning for weeks! Of course I remember,” Papyrus chimed, thinking about it happily. He always liked the idea of making work fun by having parties and saying they’re for a good cause. ‘To help bring monsters and humans together’ was the main aim. ‘To invite friends over and have fun’ was the aim that many focused on. Anyone was invited, really. It was to promote unity between the two species, though it seemed that more monsters were going than humans so far.

“Well, I’ve called Mettaton in today to ask him whether he’d help with the party,” Frisk said, looking at Papyrus to gauge his reaction. Papyrus’ eyes widened, and then he looked... concerned? That wasn’t what Frisk was expecting.

“You just called him in? Won’t he think that’s rude? He’s very busy, you know!” Papyrus worried, thinking about their meeting the other day. He fretted that he’d acted a little strange around him, hoping he wouldn’t mention it when he came in today.

“I’m sure he won’t think it’s rude, Papyrus! We’re friends!” Frisk ensured him, shrugging.

“That’s lucky, Frisk. I’m sure he’s a great friend.”

“If things go well today, he might think of you as a friend too!”

Papyrus frowned, remembering Mettaton calling him ‘cute’ and wondered whether friendship with him was actually possible. But then he smiled for Frisk’s sake and nodded. “Perhaps!” 

~~~

When they arrived at their usual building, a tall one in the city centre that housed many offices, all for people of some sort of importance, Papyrus saw that there were more guards around than usual. Probably because of their celebrity visitor later in the day, Papyrus thought, noting how they all looked so tough and intimidating. He’d have to recommend that job to Undyne. She’d be perfect at it.

They started off the day with a meeting about the spread of monster food across the country and then a talk about why monsters _aren’t_ a threat to humankind (contrary to many people’s worries) and then finally, and most importantly, the meeting with Mettaton.

He turned up in a pink limo, having the doors opened for him by a chauffeur, also dressed in a pink suit, and sauntered up to the building accompanied by two guards. He was wearing a large, fluffy coat that looked as though every stitch was worth thousands of gold, along with tight leggings and his signature pink heels. He was also wearing sunglasses, which was unnecessary because of the lack of sun, yet he still felt the need to look stylish.

When he walked into the building, he pulled his sunglasses off and passed them dismissively to the guard next to him, taking a look around. He immediately saw Frisk who had been waiting for him by the entrance so they could lead the way to the office. He turned to the guards and told them to wait by the car as he walked, not wanting them trailing behind him all day. When he had a better look at Frisk, Mettaton felt like bending down and hugging them but decided against it. He was here for a meeting and he would respect the importance of Frisk’s job. And plus, in this place, Frisk was deemed more important than _him_ which was a rare occurrence for Mettaton.

As he approached the kid, he noticed the skeleton who was stood next to them and gave him a curious smile. So _this_ is where he works. No wonder he could afford the big house and expensive sports car.

“Hello, Frisk, darling,” Mettaton greeted, smiling down at them. Frisk was small because of their youth but Mettaton was tall compared to most people anyway. He had to look down to speak to Frisk, making him realise that it would be easier to talk when they were all seated. 

Frisk smiled, leading the way to the office, heading into an elevator and pressing the button to take them up to the fifth floor. They all stood in silence for a moment, Frisk in between the two of them. Mettaton looked over at Papyrus, thinking about how smart he looked in a suit compared to the crop-top and shorts he saw him in previously. He better not call him cute again, though, Mettaton remembered how dramatically he reacted to that last time. 

_Maybe he’s cute! What, am I just supposed to keep quiet about it?_ Mettaton thought, looking at him. _It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a fact._ Though he felt more like he was trying to justify it to himself than anything.

Papyrus looked over, saw him staring at him and quickly glanced away. _Why is he doing that?_ Papyrus questioned mentally, _can’t he keep his eyes on something else for a moment?_

The elevator dinged and the doors opened, revealing the fifth floor to them. 

“This way!” Frisk informed them, leading the way down the hall to their office. “Sorry if it’s a little cramped,” They said, opening the door and allowing Mettaton inside.

Mettaton shook his head reassuringly. “That’s okay, darling. You’ve kept this office quite neat!” He said, looking around at all of the well-kept documents, tucked carefully away on the shelves, not a paper out of place.

Frisk walked around the room and sat on the chair on the other side of the desk, discreetly sitting on their knees to appear taller. “It’s mostly Papyrus who keeps everything neat in here. He’s very good at it!” Frisk said as Mettaton sat himself down across from them.

Papyrus went to stand by Frisk and smiled upon hearing his name. “It’s easier to think clearly when everything’s in place! Which is why living with someone as messy as my brother is such a travesty...” Papyrus stopped, realising suddenly that during an important meeting probably wasn’t the best time to have a rant about his brother. He’d save it for later. 

Mettaton quirked an eyebrow at him quizzically, remembering how he’d complained about his brother the first time they’d met. It seemed as though it was a topic that came naturally to him and Mettaton couldn’t help but wonder how his brother spoke of him in return. Surely he had a whole arsenal of nagging material to use against him in retaliation. 

Mettaton smiled at him, trying to make the meeting as informal and relaxed as possible. He and Frisk were practically friends at this point. There was no need for theatrics- and that was coming from _Mettaton_.

“Okay, Frisk-honey, you called me out here because you’re setting up an event, correct?” Mettaton began, interlocking his fingers in front of him.

“Correct!” Frisk nodded, “An important event!”

“Right, and you want me to attend?” Mettaton asked.

“Sure do!” Frisk said, “It’s going to promote monster-human relations, and being a monster who is engaged to a human, you’re the perfect representative!” 

Mettaton thought about it for a moment. “Would you want Danny to attend too?” 

“That would be great.” Frisk smiled, happy that this was all going so well. “As long as he isn’t busy, of course,” Frisk added, knowing that both he and Mettaton must have very hectic lives.

Mettaton made a peculiar noise of discontent before shaking his head. “Yeah, Danny is always busy recently, I’ll ask him if he’s free. Would it still be okay if he couldn’t make it?” 

“Of course!” Frisk enthused, “As long as you come, it will be fine!”

Mettaton looked at Frisk’s warm smile and then to Papyrus’ enthusiastic grin and rolled his eyes, “Okay, I’ll go to the event, it should be fun. Oh and, while I’m there, would you like me to perform? I could bring Blooky and Shyren!” 

Papyrus gasped. A live performance by Mettaton? And he’d be there to witness it? “Yes!” He agreed, a little loudly, shocking both Frisk and Mettaton. He took a deep breath to steady himself. “I think that would be a good idea!”

Mettaton smiled at him. “Okay, darling, I’ll perform. How could I resist such enthusiasm?” He turned back to Frisk. “Is there anything I have to sign? Anything we have to go through?”

The kid nodded, getting up from their seat. “Stay here for a moment, I have to fetch the papers.”

Mettaton and Papyrus watched Frisk leave through the door before turning tentatively back to each other. 

There was a cold silence that cut through the room as they both tried their best to seem casual.

“So,” Mettaton began, making Papyrus worry, “You work with Frisk. Don’t you think they seem incredibly mature for their age?” Mettaton asked, trying to cut through the silence.

“Yes, I think so, they’re very intelligent!” Papyrus agreed, clasping his hands behind his back as he spoke.

They went back to uncomfortable silence, not quite looking at each other. 

“Look,” Mettaton began again, “I appreciate you helping me out the other day. I do! I thought it was sweet!” He examined Papyrus’ pained expression and sighed. “But that’s all. Just because I’m complimenting you, it doesn’t mean I’m flirting.”

Papyrus’ brow-bone narrowed, looking at the robot with confusion. “I don’t know what else you’d call it.”

“Complimenting?” Mettaton offered, not quite understanding Papyrus’ plight.

In reality, it wasn’t the flirting (or, as Mettaton would put it, complimenting) that was a problem. It was the fact that Papyrus was so incredibly infatuated with this celebrity that anything that even _sounded_ remotely flirtatious sent his soul reeling. But Papyrus knew it shouldn’t. That it couldn’t. Mettaton was an engaged man.

When Papyrus didn’t answer, Mettaton grew concerned in turn. He didn’t want him to be uncomfortable.

“Okay, let’s start over,” Mettaton stood up, walking over to the skeleton and flashing him his usual charming style, “Hello there, darling, I’m Mettaton, what’s your name?”

Papyrus frowned at him, “What are you-”

“Just play along, sweetheart, it will make you feel better,” Mettaton said, followed by another charismatic smile. “And your name?”

Papyrus hesitated for a moment before answering. “My name’s Russ!”

This caught the robot off-guard, laughing. “No, it’s not!” 

“I thought you said we were starting over!”

“Yes, I did-”

“This time I want to be called Russ!”

Mettaton quirked an eyebrow. “But your name isn’t Russ.”

“You don’t know that! We’ve only just met!” Papyrus informed him, a little huffily. 

Mettaton laughed, unable to stop himself. “I’m going to be honest with you, Pappy, you don’t look like a Russ.”

“...Pappy?” Papyrus asked, disregarding the rest of his sentence.

Mettaton calmed down from his laughing. “What? You don’t like it? I can just call you Papyrus if you want.”

Every voice in Papyrus’ mind was screaming out to let Mettaton call him ‘Pappy’. It sounded intimate. It was sweet. It was something only lovers would be expected to shorten his name to and he loved it. 

“Papyrus will be fine,” He told him, hoping he hadn’t hurt Mettaton’s feelings by saying this.

To his relief, Mettaton just chuckled. “Okay Papyrus.” He returned to his seat before Frisk came back and wondered what he was doing. “You’re so tense, honey. I’ll look forward to seeing you at the party. I’m sure you’re lots of fun.”

Papyrus blushed. “You’re doing it again.”

“What?”

“Flirting!”

Mettaton sighed, “I am not-”

At that moment, Frisk came back to the office, slightly concerned when they both went silent as soon as they came they came into the room.

“Is everything okay?” They asked, returning to their seat with a small pile of papers in their hands.

“Yeah!” Mettaton and Papyrus replied in unison, only making them look more suspicious.

“...Okay,” They said, returning to the documents, “Mettaton! I have some stuff you have to sign...”

~~~

“Danny? Danny, I’m home!” Mettaton called when he got through the door that evening. “Are you cooking? I can smell food.”

Mettaton pulled his coat off, kicked off his boots hastily and followed the scent into the kitchen. There, he found Danny, stood by the stove, stirring something in a pot.

“Hey, Danny!” Mettaton said, standing by him, “You’re cooking?” This was a rare sight for Mettaton. In their entire relationship, Mettaton had only ever seen Danny cook... never! 

Danny turned to look at him once he heard him enter. “Hey Mettaton!” He smiled warmly and Mettaton wondered what had caused the sudden mood change. “I’m cooking for us because I’ve been such a dick to you recently. Don’t think I haven’t realised it. I promise I’m gonna set aside more time for us to spend together. You deserve it.”

“Oh!” Mettaton was overcome, “I... was beginning to think you didn’t care.”

“Of course I do, honey, we’re getting married. I love you.” Danny said, with a sincerity that made something in the pit of Mettaton’s gut churn.

“Hmm, you too, baby,” Mettaton replied, tactfully avoiding the ‘L’ word. He always found it difficult to say with much genuineness. “Seen as you’re in a good mood, I want to ask you something.”

“Yeah?” Danny asked, stirring the food in the pot as he spoke, “What is it?”

“Well, there’s this event that the ambassador of monsters is holding,” Mettaton explained, using Frisk’s title to make them seem more important. If it sounded like a significant, career-boosting event, Danny was more likely to go. “And I’d love it if you went with me. They say it’s for a good cause!”

Danny thought about it and Mettaton saw a look cross his face that Mettaton recognised. It was the expression he made when he was trying to think up an excuse.

After a while of deliberation, Danny spoke. “Sure! I’ll go with you, I’m sure whatever plans I have that day can be rescheduled...”

Mettaton gasped. “Wha- really?” 

Danny really had been through a personality transplant today. It didn’t fill Mettaton with excitement, though, he just wondered what the catch was. Danny must want something from him and Mettaton wasn’t eager to find out what.

~~~

That afternoon was a busy one for Papyrus. Not because he had a lot of work to do, but because he was spending the evening with Undyne which always promised chaos. They trained weekly, but since most of the gyms in the near vicinity had banned them due to Undyne accidentally breaking their equipment (she always said she doesn’t know her own strength yet Papyrus knows she just likes to look cool) they had to train by jogging around the streets. This, in reality, was quite a shocking sight for any passers-by who weren’t expecting a skeleton and a scary fish lady to run by, which is everyone. Nobody expects that.

“Undyne, you’re going to that event, right?” Papyrus asked as he jogged next to her, a little breathless. 

“Yeah! I wouldn’t miss a chance to see you get drunk!” Undyne replied jovially. 

Papyrus sighed. “I won’t get drunk. I’m practically working!”

“Oh, come on, you’re not working. You’re going to a party. Just because it happens to be something to do with your job doesn’t mean you’re working.”

“It does, actually.”

“Shut it and have fun! If I see you sat down for one second at that party I’ll whoop your ass right back into party position in a second.”

Papyrus frowned. “That’s alarming! What’s party position anyway?”

Undyne slowed down. “You know...” She stopped running altogether and Papyrus stopped too. She started wiggling her shoulders and shaking her hips.

“What are you doing?” Papyrus asked, hoping she wasn’t having a fit.

“Wha- I’m in party position! I’m dancing!” Undyne said, exasperated.

“That’s not dancing!” Papyrus informed her, shaking his head.

“Oh? I’d like to see you do better,” Undyne said, unwittingly inviting Papyrus to a challenge he couldn’t refuse.

He took Undyne’s hand, pulled her towards him and span her around. Waltzing was difficult when your partner keeps laughing and trying to escape but Papyrus managed it, dipping her dramatically.

She looked up at him, guffawing loudly. “Is this the part where we kiss? Because sorry Papyrus.” She patted him on the shoulder. “You’re not my type.”

He dropped her. 

“You’re not my type either, Undyne,” Papyrus said, standing over her proudly. He was sure he won the dancing contest.

She chuckled, standing back up again. “Yeah we all know what your type is.”

Papyrus, who was about to start jogging again, stopped.

“We do?”

“Yeah! You’re into that bag of bolts who never goes away on TV.” She looked at his expression of shock. Like his long-kept secret had just been revealed, “Papyrus it’s obvious! I’ve seen the way you watch that exercise video of his.”

Papyrus was done with this conversation. He started jogging again.

“It’s for training!” He stated as soon as Undyne caught up with him.

“Oh yeah? You weren’t doing a lot of training last time I saw you watch it,” Undyne teased.

“I was just surveying! I had to watch it to see what kind of exercises it had!”

“Sure. Surveying that ass more like.”

“UNDYNE,” Papyrus yelled, wishing her words were untrue.

“What was it you said? Oh yeah, ‘Undyne look! He’s so flexible!”

“Stop.”

“‘He can get his leg by his ear!’” 

“Stop!”

“‘I’ll have to use this training video a lot in the future!’”

Papyrus crossed the street to escape her but she followed him, a wide grin on her face.

“Where are you going, Papyrus? We don’t usually go this way,” Undyne asked, realising Papyrus was running back towards their village.

Papyrus was running home.

~~~

“Ohhhh, Mettaton! Come up to the bedroom,” Danny’s voice called, alerting Mettaton who was putting away dishes in the kitchen.

 _What does he want?_ Mettaton questioned as he went upstairs. _He better not just want a drink brought up to him._

He opened the bedroom door, peering in at Danny splayed out on the bed. He was wearing nothing but a dressing robe and a lascivious smile.

Ah yes, the catch.

“Oh, I’m kinda busy right now,” Mettaton said, looking at him with disinterest. 

Danny raised his eyebrows. “I thought you’d want to today! I’ve been trying to make up for being crappy to you, haven’t I?”

Mettaton thought about Danny’s sudden positive attitude he’d developed today. The smiles, the compliments, the help around the house...

“Oh, this is why you’ve been like that?” Mettaton said, the realisation cutting through him suddenly. “You weren’t having enough sex so you decided to pretend to be nice to me for the day-”

“No, that’s not why I was- Mettaton, do you really think so little of me?” Danny sat up, pulling his dressing robe around him more.

“I could ask the same question to you,” Mettaton said, trying not to lose his temper, “Am I anything more than sex to you?”

“Of course you are!” Danny stood up, pulling Mettaton into his arms, “I- didn’t realise you thought that. I just want to be with you!”

“Really? Because we never do anything anymore.” 

“Because you’re never in the mood.”

Mettaton pulled away from him. “That’s not what I meant. I mean... we never go out anymore! When was the last time you took me somewhere? Hmm?”

Danny’s eyes softened, as though they were looking for sympathy. Mettaton couldn't stand it, avoiding his gaze.

“I’m sorry, Mettaton. I’m just so busy- you know that!” Danny explained, “You know I love you, right?”

Mettaton nodded, sighing. “Yeah, I know.”

Mettaton still wasn’t convinced. He wasn’t sure whether there was any love from either of them in this relationship and he knew there was nothing he could do about it. He had to stay with Danny. It was the only way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, there's another one! Thank you everybody who commented on the last one! I appreciate the feedback! If you see any mistakes, feel free to point them out! 
> 
> The next chapter will definitely have more moments with Mettaton and Papyrus together, I promise. You have my word...


	3. Party Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parties are always a fun time, right? But when your date is a miserable snob, what fun is there to be had? Maybe Mettaton will find a way.

It was the day of the party. 

Danny was already irritable that morning, able to pin the blame on Mettaton before the robot had even woken up. 

Mettaton, being a very restless sleeper, tossing and turning all night, taking the covers and getting himself tangled in his own charging wire was beginning to get on Danny's nerves. 

He was a light sleeper, so any slight movement Mettaton made during the night made his eyes shoot open and his annoyance grow. 

He'd suggested multiple times that Mettaton try and stay still during the night but, unsurprisingly, it wasn't something he could easily control.

It also didn't help that Mettaton was a clingy sleeper and Danny liked his space. Perhaps if he just held him during the night, Mettaton might be able to stay content in one spot. Danny didn't see any use in trying it out, telling him to just "cuddle a cushion or something".

So that's what Mettaton did.

It didn’t help.

"What's the problem, sweetheart? Having trouble sleeping again?" Mettaton asked upon seeing his grumpy face as he got dressed that morning.

Danny grunted, letting Mettaton know just what he was thinking.

"Hmm," Mettaton hummed, watching him button his shirt up wrong, accidentally skipping a button, and pointedly decided not to tell him.

"Maybe if you'd stop fidgeting so much in the night-"

Mettaton had been waiting for him to bring that up. But today he was in too much of a good mood to rise to it and so he dismissed him, letting his complaints pass by like mist.

He'd been invited to perform at an important event. Well, he'd mostly invited himself and the event wasn't even very large but- it was important to him nevertheless. Monsters and humans coming together and getting along was one of his main priorities on the surface. 

Before reaching the surface, he had been emphatically sure that when the two species came together, it would mean another war. It's what Asgore had promised, after all. Now that things were working much better than expected, Mettaton intended to do everything in his power to keep it that way.

And if that meant go to parties, then so be it.

~~~

"Papyrus! Open up!" Undyne yelled outside the door followed by several unnecessarily loud knocks.

Papyrus, who had been dutifully tending to his garden at the time, came through the back door and let Undyne in. She looked at him in his garden gear, all complete with a green apron and gardening gloves. 

She chuckled. "That's a bold choice for a party, Papyrus, but I support it," She said, closing the door behind her.

Papyrus looked down at his own outfit in confusion and then shook his head, tittering. "I'm not going in this- I'm wearing a suit of course! I have to look my best when I'm working."

Undyne wondered how long he could keep convincing himself that going to a party counted as working but she let it slide, knowing that Papyrus liked to feel like he was being productive at all times.

“Speaking of which! I have to get ready now! Wait- where’s your outfit?” He looked at Undyne suspiciously. “You were supposed to arrive in your party clothes but you’re wearing your usual outfit!”

Undyne shook her head and pointed to her jeans. “No, look! They’re darker than usual. Perfect for parties.”

Papyrus looked at her jeans. They _were_ darker than usual but he had no idea why she thought this would change anything. They were going to a fancy event- jeans weren’t fancy!

“And...” She began, digging in her backpack for something. “You haven’t seen the full outfit yet!”

Papyrus crossed his arms, watching her, giving her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe there was a ballgown in that tiny bag. Or a tux. Hopefully at least a tie?

Nope, it was a leather jacket.

“Check it out, Papyrus!” Undyne said as she put it on, flexing when she did so. “Doesn’t that make me ready for any party?”

Papyrus, still not convinced in the slightest, noticed something. “Isn’t that my leather jacket?”

Undyne gulped, looking down at it. “...It might be.”

“The one you borrowed for your date with Alphys and never gave back?”

Undyne chuckled nervously. “That would be the one,” She shrugged, “But... you didn’t specify how many dates with Alphys I could wear it for- I’ve worn it on five now.”

Papyrus narrowed his brow bone. “I believe me saying ‘Undyne, you can wear this jacket for this date and then return it to me’ specifies how many dates you can wear it on.”

“So... I can wear it for the party?” 

Papyrus scratched his chin in thought. It was unorthodox, certainly, but she didn’t look _bad_. In fact, he knew that the smart look would probably look terrible on Undyne. She was a naturally cool person! How could he have even contemplated taking that fact away from her?

“Fine! You can wear the jacket, but only because it suits you. More so than a suit, ironically enough. I’m letting you off the hook this time,” Papyrus said, glancing at the clock on the wall worriedly.

“Alright!” Undyne said, glad she had managed to get away with putting so little effort into her outfit. She knew Alphys liked this jacket too, so that was just another bonus for her. 

“I have to go get my own outfit on now... will Alphys be here soon?”

Undyne nodded, leaning against the couch. “She’s coming straight here from work, she has her dress with her in the car.”

Papyrus looked happy. A dress! At least someone was taking the dress code seriously.

Now to just get his own suit on and find his brother. Hopefully Sans would be ready on time. Though, Papyrus’ hopes for that happening weren’t high.

~~~

Someone else who had taken the dress code seriously was Mettaton. He never passed up a chance to look good. He never passed up a chance to look exquisite either. And this was one of those days where he went for the latter.

“Okay, Danny-darling, how do I look?” He asked, descending the stairs slowly, trying not to trip on his long dress.

The dress itself was beautiful. It was long, black, glamorous, came down past his ankles and flowed behind him as he walked. It clung to his curves delicately, not too tight but tight enough to proudly show off the width of his hips and thighs. The majority of the dress was covered in small diamonds that shimmered as he moved, captivating anyone who happened to be looking in his direction, making them stare in awe. 

“You look great!” Danny said, standing up and giving Mettaton a kiss on the cheek. “I’m lucky to have someone as attractive as you on my arm.”

Mettaton smiled, “Same goes for you,” He said, looking at Danny’s suit. It was light blue which, in all honesty, clashed with his dark dress completely, but he _did_ look attractive. This was the Danny that made people faint at a single wink. His hair swept back smartly, a charismatic smile to go along with it. Many people would give everything they owned to lay their lips upon that smile. Now Mettaton could do so whenever he liked and he would. He deserved to, after all, he was getting married to the guy, he may as well reap the rewards.

He took hold of Danny’s jaw and lay his lips on his, kissing him gently, tenderly, trying his hardest to evoke some sort emotion from it. Danny stood still. Didn’t hook his arms around his waist. Didn’t pull him closer. Didn’t even hold the hand that was caressing his face. Mettaton let go. Kissing Danny, it seemed, was like kissing a rock. There was no passion, no chemistry. And though Danny was the only man Mettaton had ever kissed, he was sure there should be something more to it. Some sort of feeling of love that would pour into his soul and make his breathing hitch. And yet, no matter how many times he tried to make that feeling happen, it never came.

Danny smiled as Mettaton pulled away, wiping his lipstick from his lips with the back of his hand.

“You’re quite the kisser,” Danny informed him, and Mettaton knew he wasn’t being sarcastic, Danny hated sarcasm. No, he actually enjoyed Mettaton’s kisses. Mettaton wished he could say the same.

Mettaton nodded. “Well, of course, darling,” He said, trying to keep the disappointment from his voice, “Should we get going now? The party will be starting soon and it’s an hours drive...”

“Sure! Let’s get going.”

~~~

When he and Danny turned up at the event, it seems they were almost the last ones there. That was fine, though. Mettaton preferred to arrive ‘fashionably late’. It made him feel more important if people were waiting for his arrival. 

The room the party was held in was large, with beautiful fairy lights adorning the walls. Round tables were set out around the room, all with little name plates so people knew where to sit. On one side of the room was an empty space, obviously set out for dancing when the music started. When Mettaton performed, he planned to sing some slow songs along with some more fast-paced songs so he was glad to see there was room to dance. He always enjoyed seeing that people were so moved by his music that they were literally moving to it.

He spotted Shyren and Napstablook stood on a raised platform next to the empty dance-space. That’s where the performance was going to take place, Mettaton supposed, seeing Undyne carrying a DJ set in that direction. It was difficult to ask Blooky or Shyren to carry all the equipment in. They were both very small monsters and Napstablook was incorporeal. 

Mettaton told Danny to find where they were sat and he left him, going to see his fellow band members.

Undyne was on her hands and knees around the back of the DJ set, sorting all of the electrics out as a favour to them. Mettaton looked at her as he approached, noticing how she was incredibly underdressed for the occasion yet somehow looked much better than she usually did. 

“Blooky! Shyren! It’s so good to see you two,” He said, giving them both a kiss on the cheek.

“You saw us this morning,” Shyren informed him, chuckling.

“That doesn’t matter, I’m still happy to see you again.”

Undyne stood up when she’d successfully connected the DJ set and went to sort out Shyren and Mettaton’s microphones.

“What’s up, Metal-butt,” She said when she saw him.

“Charming as always,” Mettaton scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Is this going to be ready soon?”

Undyne nodded. “Yeah, it’s nearly all set up but it might take a couple of minutes yet if you wanna go talk to Frisk- they’ve been waiting for you to arrive.”

Mettaton smiled. “Alright, darling,” He scanned the room, looking for them. He saw Danny first, chatting with a group of important looking people on their table. _Great_ Mettaton thought bitterly, _I’ve been seated with the ‘business’ people. That should be fun_. 

Then he spotted Papyrus on the other side of the room, looking as dashing as always in a black suit and silver tie. He was talking to another, shorter skeleton. Mettaton deduced that this must be the brother he often spoke so much about and curiosity as to what he was really like niggled at him. He’d try and talk to them later, right now he had to find Frisk. 

That’s when he saw them, they were with the former king and queen, their adoptive parents. Alphys was there too, looking a little intimidated to be in the company of former royalty. Mettaton hardly knew why. She used to see Asgore almost every day when she worked for him. Though, he always had an inkling that she had a crush on him. Perhaps that’s why she looked so embarrassed.

Frisk was wearing a suit similar to Papyrus’, also looking very smart. It didn’t stop them from looking so incredibly young for their job, though. 

Mettaton approached them, smiling charmingly as he did so.

“Mettaton!” They said when they saw him, smiling back at him happily. 

“Frisk, sweetheart, I’m sorry I’m a little late-”

Frisk quickly cut him off, “It’s fine! You’re just on time!” They informed him, before gesturing to his dress, “You look so pretty.”

Mettaton grinned. “Thank you!” He scooped them into a hug, disregarding the professional relationship they were supposed to be having. Mettaton liked hugging too much. “Undyne told me you wanted to talk?”

“Yeah! But... only a chat. We haven’t talked properly in _ages_...” 

Mettaton nodded in mock sincerity, “I believe a chat is acceptable.”

Frisk giggled.

~~~

In a few minutes, Mettaton was on the small stage in the corner of the room along with Shyren and Napstablook. He waited until all eyes were on him, making him feel as though he was the centre of all attention. That’s how he liked to perform, knowing that everyone could see and hear him, knowing that he was reaching everyone with his music and, hopefully, they’d all be encouraged to dance once he began.

He began with a fast song to get people onto the dance floor, watching as Danny was the first to rise and set the example for the others, encouraging them to join in. 

Mettaton had never seen Danny dance before so this caught him a little off-guard. He’d never seen him so supportive before either, dancing to his music like he was feeling every note course through him. He actually looked a little silly, the way he was moving his arms carelessly and shaking his hips slightly off-beat. Mettaton smiled to himself as he sang, hoping gently that this meant they could dance together later, after his performance was over. Maybe this could be the time he felt some passion in their relationship.

Mettaton then sang a couple of slow songs, Shyren’s voice coming in beautifully as backing as the ballads and emotive love songs poured out across the room. Danny, being partnerless, sat back down again during these songs, feeling it a little awkward to try to dance to slow songs by himself.

Mettaton had wondered whether he’d do this, and hoped he’d get back up again when he requested later. He’d had his heart set on dancing with him.

~~~

Alphys had been dragged up to the dance floor by Undyne. She was reluctant at first, but Undyne’s disjointed dance moves quickly made her relax. Undyne’s dancing really was something to behold. Not because of how good it was, but because it was so atrocious, anyone watching couldn’t bring themselves look away. Alphys was red in the face laughing at her dancing, until Undyne scooped her up into her arms and made her dance with her. Alphys giggled, holding on tight to her girlfriend as they spun around to the music. She wondered curiously just how much alcohol Undyne had drunk that night, though she knew she’d be just the same sober.

Mettaton watched them dancing as he sang, feeling a peculiar pang of emotion twist in his gut. He pondered momentarily what that feeling was. Why was he so conflicted as he watched Alphys and Undyne have fun? He looked over to the table Danny was sat on. If he wasn’t singing he would have sighed. Danny was on his phone, a finger pressed into his free ear to block out the sound of Mettaton’s singing. Couldn’t he have taken one day off from working? Who was so important that he had to speak to them now?

Mettaton looked back towards Alphys and Undyne and questioned briefly whether that feeling was jealousy. He quickly pushed that thought away. It couldn’t be. He knew very well that he didn’t need stuff like that to be happy. Marrying Danny would bring him all the happiness he would ever need.

After a few more songs, Mettaton watched bemusedly as Papyrus came onto the dance floor, holding Frisk’s hand as he went. He danced with them, letting them stand on his shoes as they swayed sweetly to the music. It was an adorable sight. Papyrus seemed to be so gentle as he danced, his tall frame towering over them. Compared to Undyne’s chaotic, epilepsy-inducing dancing, Papyrus’ sweet waltzing with Frisk certainly was heart-warming. 

That was until Undyne spotted the two of them and picked Frisk up into her arms, making them join her horrible, horrible dancing as Papyrus watched on, disgruntled. And then he shrugged, catching eye-contact with Mettaton, noticing that he was being watched and looked away suddenly. It could have been the lighting but Mettaton could have sworn he saw him blush. 

_They have to stop distracting me while I’m singing,_ Mettaton thought to himself, _I almost laughed at that stupidly cute skeleton._

Mettaton sang just a few more songs, ending his performance on a powerful note that would send shivers down the spines of the deaf. He bowed and received his applause gratefully, smiling at Napstablook and Shyren enthusiastically as he celebrated another performance well-done.

Mettaton stepped down from the platform, hearing music begin to play from the speakers situated around the room at a slightly quieter rate to their band’s music. He still had a buzz from performing and the party atmosphere was keeping his heart light, making him want to dance.

He walked up to Danny confidently, noticing that he had finally put his phone away. His mind was resolute, he would get Danny to dance with him if it was the last thing he did tonight.

“Danny, sweetheart, did you want to go up there and dan-”

Danny cut him off, waving his arms dismissively. “Hold on, honey, let me introduce you to the others on the table.” 

Mettaton braced himself, taking a slow breath inwards and smiled, looking around at the others on the table as he sat down. They were all middle-aged and rather serious looking. They didn’t seem to be enjoying the music very much, not even bobbing their head to the beat or tapping fingers on the table. There was a stern air around them all that made Mettaton feel as though he was at a business meeting instead of a party.

Danny went around the table, introducing them all as if they were the most interesting people he had ever met. In reality, they were just upper class, rich snobs. No wonder Danny liked them, they were just like his friends. 

They all spoke quietly and sternly, as though the concept of ‘fun’ was alien to them. After Mettaton had heard the fifth story about accounting or politics, he felt his hopes of escaping for a dance dwindling away.

He slumped, chin on his hand, not quite listening to the boring chatter of the others on his table, only nodding when appropriate and smiling when spoken to. After a while, he turned to Danny, feeling like he might as well ask, or else he’d end up sat there all night, bored out of his mind.

“Hey, Danny, how about we go up for a dance? I love this song,” He said, flashing that charming smile he’d often use to get his own way. 

It almost looked as though it would work too as Danny smiled back at him and nodded. Then his pocket buzzed, and Danny’s hand zipped to it quicker than Mettaton had seen him move all night. 

“I’m sorry, Mettaton, I’ve gotta take this call,” He told him, taking the phone from his pocket and turning, answering the phone huffily.

Mettaton sighed, positioning his chin on his hand again moodily.

On the other side of the room, Papyrus sat with Undyne and Alphys. He’d been encouraged to have a drink and finally agreed, sipping a glass of wine gingerly. He didn’t want to do anything he would regret in the morning. The wine _did_ taste nice, though, he wouldn’t mind having just a little more...

“Hey, Papyrus, enjoying yourself?” Undyne asked, noticing he’d been a little quieter than usual over the past half an hour, often looking over to Mettaton’s table and frowning. A quiet Papyrus was a concerning Papyrus.

Papyrus nodded and smiled. “Yes! Why wouldn’t I? The party has been going well.”

Undyne didn’t look convinced. “Then why’d you keep looking over at Mettaton’s table?”

He looked shocked for a second and then sighed, giving in to her. “Because I can’t help but notice how miserable he looks over there.”

“He does?” Undyne squinted as she looked over to his table. “He’s just sat there, how can you tell?”

“Body language! Look how he’s slumped so sadly! So dejected! He’s usually so bright and happy! Do you- do you think I should do something?” He asked, his fingers tapping on his wine glass restlessly.

Undyne raised a brow. “Like what?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know! Talk to him? His boyfriend is completely ignoring him... maybe he wants someone to dance with?”

Undyne turned to Alphys who was sat on the other side of her, looking worried. “Why don’t you go talk to him? You’re friends, right?”

“Y-yeah! We are. It’s just...” She looked over at Mettaton’s table, at the intimidating people sat on it and then back to Undyne. “What if they think I’m interrupting something? They all look like they talking about something very important.”

Papyrus frowned, looking at them with distaste. “That’s the problem. He should be having fun, not listening to their boring drivel.”

Undyne guffawed. “Then what are you going to do? Just go up there and dance with him?”

“Yes. I think I might!”

Undyne stopped laughing. “Paps, I was joking, he’s sat there with his boyfriend.”

“Well! A dance is harmless. And if his boyfriend won’t dance with him... I will!” Papyrus downed his drink in one, slamming it back down on the table decisively. “I’m going to ask him to dance!”

“Wha- really?” Undyne said, watching as he stood up with disbelief. She couldn’t quite tell if he was being brave or foolish but she admired him regardless.

He headed towards Mettaton with his head held high. He just didn’t like seeing him so upset, especially when it was Papyrus and Frisk who had asked him to come. Really, it was his _job_ to ask him to dance. That’s what Papyrus would tell himself anyway.

He stood there for a moment, close to Mettaton’s chair but stopped himself before he could make himself noticed. Mettaton was looking in the other direction, obviously not paying attention to anything in particular, judging by the way he was staring at the wall like that. Papyrus felt the sting of pity and coughed gently, causing Mettaton to turn and look at him.

The robot’s eyes lit up immediately, obviously seeing Papyrus as his salvation. 

“Papyrus!” He said happily, smiling gently, “It’s good to see you again.”

Papyrus nodded, smiling in return. Danny hadn’t noticed him yet, still hunched over on his phone, talking to someone in a hushed, angry tone.

“I wanted to know if you wanted to...” Papyrus took a deep breath, hoping he wasn’t overstepping any boundaries by asking this. Dancing could be purely platonic! Something to be done with friends. As Mettaton watched him patiently, he started again, “Would you like to dance?”

Mettaton’s smile dropped for a moment, turning into a brief expression of shock. Then he smiled again. A pure smile that reached his eyes. “I’d love to.”

Papyrus hadn’t even offered his hand but Mettaton had found it, intertwining their fingers as they walked towards the dance floor. It was a dangerous move, Mettaton knew, but he couldn’t resist after the night he’d had. If his own boyfriend didn’t want to treat him, he might as well have fun with Papyrus. It’s not like they were doing anything sordid, after all. 

When they reached the dance floor, they were relieved to hear a fast song begin to play. They danced together jovially, laughing and tittering at the silly dance moves they came up with. Papyrus, it turned out, wasn’t bad at dancing. But he was even better at making Mettaton laugh. He often had to stop dancing to cover his mouth from his uncontrollable laughter. Papyrus thought Mettaton’s genuine laugh was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard. It was loud and brash, yet incredibly heart-warming to hear.

They sometimes took a quick glance back to Mettaton’s table, worried that they’d see Danny’s enraged face looking back. But they didn’t, he didn’t even care, apparently talking to God-knows-who on the phone was much more important than giving a damn about his fiancé. Mettaton couldn’t tell whether he was relieved he didn’t care or annoyed. He could show a _little_ passion. At least a sullen look or disgruntled stare. But there was nothing. 

Mettaton decided to stop thinking of him then, focusing on the skeleton that was making him laugh in front of him. He was so sweet, coming to cheer him up after he’d been so miserable all night. He should try to talk to him more often in his spare time. He knew that spending time with this guy was surely good for his mental health.

They danced cheerfully for a while, before the moment they’d hoped wouldn’t come, inevitably came. A slow song began to play, one that would require more intimate, close contact dancing. Papyrus, fearing Mettaton wouldn’t feel comfortable dancing with him like that, made to return to his table. But Mettaton didn’t let him, taking hold of his hand and making him turn around again. 

Mettaton looked at him curiously. “You’re sitting down again?”

Papyrus, not understanding what Mettaton could possibly be suggesting he do instead, shrugged. “Yes... you aren’t?”

He chuckled, “Only if I’m partnerless. Are you sure you don’t want to dance anymore?”

Papyrus gasped quietly. “Oh! I just thought-”

“A slow song’s too inappropriate for someone in my situation?” He glanced back to Danny, seeing that he’d put the phone down but was now talking to one of his new dreary friends.

Papyrus looked too, frowning at him slightly. “No, we can dance if you want.”

“I do want,” He smiled, tugging him by the hand gently to bring him closer.

Papyrus took a deep breath as he got close, feeling the warmth from Mettaton’s body envelop his senses. Mettaton took his left hand in his own and placed his free hand on the skeleton’s shoulder. Shaking slightly, Papyrus moved his own hand to Mettaton’s waist, trying to control himself as the thought of being so close to him flooded his mind. 

“Don’t worry so much, sweetheart. You’re a natural at dancing,” He slid closer, their faces so near that they could feel the warmth of each other’s breaths.

“It’s not my dancing skills I’m worried about,” Papyrus admitted, feeling the slow, sensual pacing of the music and let himself get lost in the moment. Dancing so intimately with Mettaton was something he’d only ever dreamt of in the past and now it was really happening. If his boyfriend wasn’t sitting just across the room, it would have been perfect. But he’d forgotten about him now. He’d allowed himself to indulge in the fact that Mettaton had his hand in his. And that his other hand was on Mettaton’s waist, so gently placed and yet so incredibly intimate at the same time.

“What changed your mind?” Mettaton asked in a hushed tone, pulling Papyrus from his reverie. When he saw his confusion, he elaborated, “You were always so worried before. Even when I complimented you- you accused me of flirting. And now, this?”

Papyrus nodded, “Well, this is purely platonic.”

“So was the compliment!” Mettaton laughed, “You don’t think I’m being a terrible partner, do you?”

Papyrus shook his head. “No-”

“Because I don’t flirt with other people when I’m in a relationship. I’m not that kind of person,” Mettaton said defiantly, looking back at Danny. 

Papyrus followed his gaze, watching as he laughed at some joke someone was telling him. 

“Why didn’t you dance with him?” Papyrus asked, trying his hardest not to pry. It was just so difficult when he had so many questions.

Mettaton shrugged. “He didn’t seem interested. I guess it’s just not his thing.”

This had Papyrus unconvinced. “Wasn’t he dancing before? When you were singing?”

“Ah, you noticed that, huh? Yeah, I have a feeling he did that as an excuse,” Mettaton said, not entirely sure why he was telling Papyrus this. He felt as though he could admit anything to him.

“An excuse? For what?”

“So if I asked him to dance later, he’d be able to say ‘sorry, Mettaton, I don’t really feel like dancing now- but I danced earlier!’,” Mettaton rolled his eyes, “He just used his phone as an excuse this time.”

Papyrus frowned, tightening the grip on Mettaton’s hand subconsciously. He looked Mettaton in the eye, seeing a small look of discontentment there, before it quickly disappeared. 

“Can I just forget about him for a moment? I was really enjoying dancing with you until I was reminded of him.” 

“Yes, of course!” He assured, smiling pleasantly. Though, he felt a little shocked to hear Mettaton speak of his boyfriend like that. As though he couldn’t stand the thought of him. Everywhere in the media, they’d been portrayed as being infatuated with one another. People across the world were in love with their love and up until this point, Papyrus hadn’t questioned it. They were probably just having a bad day. Couples had those, right? 

They danced slowly for a while longer, both trying to rid the thought of Danny from their minds. Somehow, they eventually managed it, looking into one another’s eyes as they held each other, turning tenderly to the leisurely pace of the music. If Papyrus had cared about anything other than Mettaton at that point, he’d have noticed his friend’s eyes all on them. Undyne was in disbelief, not only at the fact that Papyrus was dancing with Mettaton so romantically, but also because Danny didn’t seem to care in the slightest. Either Danny was the most trusting partner in the world or he was used to Mettaton being like this. Undyne assumed it was a mixture of both.

And he should have been concerned too, as Mettaton had found himself completely enthralled by Papyrus. When he gazed at his face, there was a strange sort of tender beauty there. He had kind features. A face that made him feel warm inside and smile involuntarily. He could have danced and looked at his gorgeous face all night if he could. But he knew they’d have to part eventually so he made the most what he was given. 

At long last, after many slow, sensual songs played, a faster song came on. Both Mettaton and Papyrus loosened their grip, almost surprised at how entranced they’d been with each other.

Mettaton looked back at his table, really not feeling in the mood to go back to Danny. Or his new boring friends. No, he wanted to chat with Papyrus a little longer, there was still so much he wanted to know about him. 

Spotting a door on the other side of the dance floor that he’d been informed lead to a balcony, Mettaton took Papyrus by the hand and led him through it. 

The view from the balcony was beautiful. It overlooked the city around them and the twinkling lights from buildings, the dark night sky above informing them just how late it had gotten. Another couple was out there, chatting and looking out at the view wistfully. When they saw Mettaton and Papyrus arrive, they left, probably assuming they wanted some privacy.

Mettaton walked out to the railing of the balcony, resting his arms on it and looking out as Papyrus joined him by his side.

“Why did you bring me out here, Mettaton?” Papyrus asked, looking at his face that was delicately lit by the moonlight. 

Mettaton smiled. “I just wanted to chat with you for a while. Somewhere away from everyone else. You know what they’ll be thinking.”

Papyrus nodded. “Yes, I don’t look forward to hearing what Undyne has to say! And my brother...”

“You talk about your brother a lot,” Mettaton chuckled lightly.

“Yes, I suppose I do!”

“You live together, right?” He asked, piecing together bits of information he’d heard Papyrus say before.

“That’s right! He needs someone responsible like me to look after him!” Papyrus nodded, “And someone cool, too. That’s the most important part.”

Mettaton couldn't help but laugh at this. “Being cool surely is important, darling.”

They fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, looking at the view in front of them.

Then Papyrus spoke again. “Oh! I forgot to tell you how exquisitely beautiful you look tonight,” He said quickly, looking away to avoid eye-contact.

Mettaton smiled warmly, genuinely flattered by Papyrus' words, placing a hand over his on the railing. “Thank you, Papyrus.”

Papyrus turned around when he felt Mettaton’s hand on his, looking into his delicate eyes. And then at his elegant smile. He’d never felt an emotion quite so intense in all his life. And he wasn’t even sure what the emotion was.

“Mettaton! There you are!” Danny’s voice rang out suddenly, causing Mettaton to pull his hand away. They both turned to look at Danny who’d entered the balcony in a hurry.

“What is it, honey?” Mettaton asked, wondering why he was looking so urgent. 

“We’ve gotta go, I just got a call from my agent and there’s an opportunity I _really_ can’t miss,” He explained, beginning to pull Mettaton by the hand but he protested, wrenching his hand back.

“Hold on, it’s still early. Do you have to go right now?” He asked, irritated that he’d interrupted his conversation with Papyrus.

“Yes! Now, come on, I can’t be late,” He said, trying to grab Mettaton’s hand again, but Mettaton evaded it.

“Can I at least finish my conversation with Papyrus?”

Danny looked at him and then to Papyrus sceptically, huffing, “Sure, but don’t take long.”

He left again as quickly as he entered. 

Mettaton turned to Papyrus, smiling apologetically. “I’m sorry about him. It really is a shame I have to go early but, before I leave, can I just ask for your phone number?”

Papyrus blinked, a little shocked, before nodding. “Of course!”

“Wonderful! I’d just love to be able to chat with you again sometime.”

“And I’d love to chat with you too!”

They took their phones out and swapped numbers, promising to speak to each other again soon.

Mettaton turned to leave through the balcony doors before looking back. “I’ve had a wonderful night tonight, Papyrus. And I have you to thank for that.”

Papyrus smiled. “No problem, Mettaton! I’ve had a wonderful night too!”

They exchanged a warm look before Mettaton left to join his impatient fiancé. This night would be on Mettaton’s mind for days to come, even if it ended early.

As Mettaton and Danny left the building, Papyrus returned to the table with Undyne, Alphys and his brother. He sighed, blocking out their questions with evasive answers. He was too caught up with dreamy thoughts of Mettaton to pay them any notice. He’d been so incredibly charming. Papyrus was almost sure that if he’d kissed him, he’d have gladly let him.

That thought worried him immensely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! Papyton stuff is progressing. And it's getting exciting. Sorry for the long gap between chapters. I've been busy with college lately and I have another fic going on at the same time- who let me do that?
> 
> Anyway! I hope you all enjoyed this one! I enjoyed writing it... thank you for all comments and kudos! They really motivate me to keep going :D


	4. Deep Breaths and Big Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feelings are developed, confusion ensues, chaos wrecks Mettaton's mind. Just your average day in these guy's lives.

“You did great last night, by the way. I don’t think I’ve told you that yet,” Danny said as he dressed, pulling on a pair of jeans. He’d returned early that morning from whatever “unmissable opportunity” he’d been to this time. Mettaton hadn’t bothered to ask him what it was. He was still slightly upset with him after he made him leave the party early, just as he was beginning to enjoy himself.

“Oh, thank you, baby, I do think I did a good performance- but then again, don’t I always?” Mettaton said, smirking. 

“Yes you do, but that’s not what I was referring to,” Danny said in return, leaning on the wall now that he was fully dressed, watching Mettaton apply make-up in the mirror, only dressed in a loose-fitting t-shirt and underwear. So casual and yet so sexily attractive all at the same time. Those long legs, that perfectly sculpted ass and that dirty smile. The thought that only he could see Mettaton like this made his heart beat a little faster. This sexy robot was all his.

“Oh? What were you referring to?”

“The way you schmoozed with that guy all night- what was his name? Papyrus?” 

Mettaton paused, wondering if this was a trap. But then he quickly realised he had nothing to feel guilty about. Though, something in the back of Mettaton’s mind told him to take the truth and twist it a little, just to erase any suspicion. He had been dancing with another man, after all. “Well yes, I just supposed that when you were talking to all those _fascinating_ people on our table, I should go talk to one of the hosts. It only makes sense, darling.”

“He works with the ambassador of monsters, right?” 

“The monster’s ambassador to the humans, correct,” Mettaton said, “I’m not entirely sure what his job is... but he seemed important. I’ve seen him at Frisk’s side in the past,” He told him, deciding to leave the part out where he’d actually been to Papyrus’ house before. That would only cause more questions than Mettaton was prepared to answer.

“It’s good to have connections everywhere,” Danny said, as though he was educating Mettaton on something new, as a teacher would do to a failing student, “Especially in the monster department. They’re growing in popularity at the moment which, I must say, is mostly down to you... being a monster yourself.”

Mettaton nodded knowingly. “I care a lot about humans and monsters getting along, I was worried for a long time that they wouldn’t...” He frowned into the mirror, deciding upon which lipstick he should use.

Danny went and sat beside him, the stool wide enough to seat two. He slipped an arm around Mettaton’s waist to comfort him, watching the intricate process of his make-up application. “I think that guy really liked you,” He said simply, looking into the mirror at Mettaton’s reflection, as though he was trying to gauge his reaction.

Mettaton shrugged, thinking in his head how he had liked him too, deciding it was probably best to keep that to himself as well. “Who doesn’t like me?” He chuckled. 

He noted mentally how he liked the feeling of Danny’s arm around him, it was soothing, a feeling he didn’t realise he craved until he felt it. He let himself indulge in that rare feeling, leaning into Danny’s embrace.

“Well, that’s true, Mettaton, you are perfect.” And with that, he kissed Mettaton’s temple. “I really am a lucky man.”

“What’s come over you today, huh? You’re not usually so mushy,” Mettaton teased, not complaining in the slightest.

Danny smiled. “Nothing, just enjoying the fact that I’m the only man in the world that gets to be with you.” He kissed Mettaton’s neck next. “I get you all to myself.”

This was a change Mettaton didn’t expect. Something in the back of his mind questioned whether he just wanted to get him into bed, like last time. Though he almost didn’t want to think about it. Unsurprisingly, he was enjoying this softer side to Danny. It reminded him of the man he’d agreed to marry, just those few months back.

That was until Danny spoke again, “It’s cute really, that guy thinking he had a chance.”

“Wait, what are you talking about?”

“That skeleton guy obviously wanted to sleep with you- if we hadn’t left so soon, I’m sure he would have made a move.”

Mettaton stopped, pushing Danny back gently. “Are you being serious? Papyrus didn’t want to sleep with me- he’s just a sweet guy.”

“Oh, come on. Why else would he spend all night with you?”

“I don’t know? Maybe a little thing called enjoying my company?” Mettaton huffed, “Everything always comes back to sex with you, doesn’t it?”

“Because that’s what it usually is,” Danny countered, “Don’t be so naive, Mettaton, you can’t tell me that guy didn’t want to get into your pants.”

“I’m not naive,” Mettaton argued standing up from the stool and walking away, “Stop treating me like I’m some sort of child that I’m not- I’m not an idiot, Danny.”

“I know that, Mettaton, I know-” He sighed, “Okay, okay, I’m sorry, I don’t think you’re an idiot.”

But Mettaton wasn’t listening, he was getting dressed, pulling off his shirt. He could almost feel Danny’s hungry eyes on him as he changed, quickly pulling on a pink, short dress that came down past his hips. Then he slipped on a pair of black heels and left, not looking back at Danny once.

He wished he could stop arguing with Danny so much. He hated it when it happened and regretted it as soon as it was over. He planned to spend the rest of his life with this man, and Mettaton sometimes felt as though he should just let him have his opinion and not rise to it. But the bold nature in him often took over when he heard an opinion he thought to be incorrect, and he couldn’t stop himself from standing his ground.

But there was still one question Mettaton didn’t quite know the answer to.

Why did he get so defensive when discussing Papyrus?

It wasn’t like he knew him very well. He was just some skeleton he’d met a couple of times. All he knew was that he complained about his brother a lot and happened to be a total sweetheart. At least that’s what he thought. What if he _did_ just want to sleep with him, like Danny had said? Mettaton was usually the first person to realise when someone was attracted to him. And people usually were. Though, there was something about Papyrus that made it difficult to tell. Why, if he was so attracted to him, would he ask him to dance so blatantly in front of his boyfriend? Was he just incredibly bold? Or maybe he was just being nice, as Mettaton first suspected. He couldn’t quite work it out.

Mettaton scooped up his phone and bag and walked out of the door, knowing what he needed out of today. He needed Alphys. He’d go to Napstablook but he’d been with them all week and often found his troubles difficult to talk about with them. He didn’t want to burden them after all he’d put them through. They, in his opinion, didn’t deserve it. His relationship with Alphys, on the other hand, was less guilt-ridden. Slightly, anyway. Sometimes Mettaton just needed his friend to vent to.

He walked straight to her house, hoping Undyne wasn’t there so he wouldn’t be interrupting anything. He didn’t call ahead in anticipation of this. If he called Alphys now, she might say she was too busy to have him over. But if he arrived unannounced, she’d have much more difficulty turning him away. He knew just how Alphys worked.

He praised himself on picking such thin clothing. The sun was unbearably hot that day, the last thing he needed was people spotting him sweating on the street, or worse, fainting. Being a robot, heat was good to an extent, and then his system overheated and he ended up passing out. That was never fun. 

At least it looked dramatic.

~~~

He turned up at Alphys’ door quickly, having walked faster than he’d realised, stomping out the rage with every step.

He knocked on the door musically, standing with one hand on his hip as he waited for Alphys to open up. After a beat, the door opened, but not to who Mettaton was expecting.

“Papyrus!” He exclaimed, “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

The skeleton, wearing a crop top and shorts, much like the first time Mettaton had seen him, beamed at him.

“Mettaton!” He said in a tone much like Mettaton’s, “I didn’t expect to see you here either! Are you here to see Alphys?”

The robot nodded, “That’s right, darling-”

Undyne came to the door then, a fresh scowl on her face. “We’re busy today actually.”

“Yes! Very busy today, Mettaton!” Papyrus repeated cheerily, “Would you like to be busy with us?”

“Paps, no, that’s not what I meant.”

“Hush, Undyne, I didn’t ask,” Papyrus retorted, standing aside to let Mettaton in, elbowing Undyne to do the same. “Why did you want to see Alphys?”

Mettaton walked in, realising they must have planned something to do together that day. Without him. The mere thought of that hurt more than he expected it to. It was as if now he had a boyfriend, Alphys just assumed he didn't need his friends anymore. Or, she simply didn't like to think she was 'intruding' on his life. It still gave Mettaton a pang in his stomach that he bottled up.

“Oh, I just wanted to have a little chat... Where is she?” He looked around her living room as Papyrus closed the door, seeing no sign of her.

“She’s getting ready right now, actually... We were just going out! There’s a festival in town.” Papyrus explained, watching as Mettaton looked up the stairs towards Alphys’ room and then back towards the door, concern etched on his face.

“Maybe I should just go- you guys seem occupied.”

“Good idea!” Undyne smiled, going to open the door for him. But Papyrus didn’t let her, blocking her path quickly.

“Nonsense! You can chat with Alphys at the festival- you don’t have to leave after you’ve just travelled all this way.”

That was all Mettaton needed.

“Okay!” He went and settled himself on the sofa, resting his heeled feet on the table. He looked back at the others quizzically “Are you two just going to stand around or are you going to keep your guest company?”

Papyrus leapt at the opportunity. Sitting on the sofa with Mettaton, trying his best to look casual and looking awkward and rigid in the process.

Undyne rolled her eyes at him. “You’re not our ‘guest’ but whatever,” She groaned, sitting on the sofa between the two of them. The force of her backside meeting the seat was so great that the other two bounced slightly. 

“Don’t be so rude, Undyne!” Papyrus scolded, though it didn’t look like Mettaton cared about her complaints. “I’m sorry you couldn’t stay at the party longer last night, Mettaton!” He said, ignoring Undyne next to him.

Mettaton turned so he was looking at Papyrus, also ignoring the disgruntled Undyne between them. “I’m sorry, too... But some things can’t be helped. Including my partner’s seemingly endless schedule.”

“I’m sure he had a good reason for it!” Papyrus said.

“Well, I’d hope so-” Mettaton began, but stopped when he saw Alphys walk into the room, her expression growing increasingly more concerned as she saw Mettaton and Undyne sat together.

“Mettaton! Did we plan something? O-oh no, I didn’t forget something did I?” She panicked, checking her phone in case she’d missed any messages from him.

Mettaton shook his head, reassuring her. “No, no darling, I just wanted to come chat and found that you were busy- I honestly think I should leave now,” He admitted, looking at Undyne and then to Papyrus, “I know you invited me to join but I really think I should head home instead.”

There was something about being in the same place as Undyne, the person who knew how to wind him up beyond anyone else, and Papyrus, who he felt so confused about, that made him feel a little overwhelmed. He’d have to catch up with Alphys another time. 

Undyne looked smug, which almost made Mettaton want to change his mind. But he didn’t. He didn’t know why he was acting so strange around this skeleton recently, but he wasn’t about to stick around to find out. 

“I’m just going to walk back home,” Mettaton said, standing and hugging Alphys on the way to the door.

“Wait!” Papyrus gasped suddenly, “You walked all the way here? On your legs? Are you sure you don’t want a lift back? I can drive you!”

Mettaton contemplated this for a moment. The walk back did seem like a long one, especially as he had just walked all the way here. A lift would be lovely. So why did he feel so hesitant? Was it what Danny had said about Papyrus earlier- about him wanting to sleep with him? No, it couldn’t be. Mettaton didn’t believe that for a second and yet, there was still a weird feeling in his gut that he felt when Papyrus offered him that lift.

And beyond all of that, he still found himself accepting. “Thank you, darling, that would be greatly appreciated.”

Papyrus leapt to his feet. “Undyne, Alphys, I’ll be back after I drop Mettaton off!” He told them, picking up his keys and leading Mettaton to the door. Blatantly ignoring Undyne’s sputtering protests.

Once outside, Mettaton saw Papyrus’ red sportscar and wondered how he hadn’t noticed it when he arrived. He supposed he must have been in such a blind rage he’d stormed straight passed it, unseeing. He could barely remember why he was angry now. He argued with Danny so often recently, the bickering all seemed to mix together in his mind.

Papyrus opened the door for him kindly, letting him slip onto the leather seat. 

_This really is a nice car_ Mettaton thought to himself as he looked around, waiting for Papyrus to get into the driver’s seat.

“Thank you for this, sweetie, I honestly wasn’t looking forward to walking all the way back,” Mettaton admitted as Papyrus sat down. 

Papyrus started driving, watching the road meticulously as he did so. “It’s no problem, Mettaton!” He replied, smiling, “What are friends for?” He chimed and Mettaton smiled back, realising that this was the first time Papyrus had called him a ‘friend’ and wondered how long he’d considered him as one. “What did you want to talk to Alphys about anyway?” He asked curiously.

Mettaton hummed, “Oh, well...” He considered talking about his argument with Danny for a second and then changed his mind, remembering suddenly that they’d been arguing about Papyrus and his motives. “Nothing in particular, I just wanted a chat with her. You know, for something to do.”

Papyrus took his words into deeper consideration than Mettaton expected, frowning slightly. “If you wanted something to do, you could come out with us! We don’t mind- in fact, I'm sure most of us would really enjoy your company!”

Mettaton chuckled. “Thank you, Papyrus, but I don’t really think spending too much time with Undyne is a good idea. For both of our sakes. No, I’ll just go home and see if Danny’s in a good mood,” He stated, huffing a little.

“Well, if it’s Undyne that’s your problem...” Papyrus began, something in his mind making him stop talking.

But Mettaton looked at him expectantly. “What were you going to say, honey?”

Papyrus, looking a little hesitant, spoke again, “If it’s Undyne that’s your problem, we could just go somewhere... without her.”

Mettaton raised an eyebrow. “But you were going to go out with her, I don’t want to interrupt your plans.” 

Papyrus shook his head gently. “Don’t worry about that, I was feeling a little awkward with them anyway. It’s strange but, when they’re together I just feel like-”

“A third wheel?” Mettaton interrupted, knowing what he meant.

“Exactly! I like both of their company! They’re both good friends of mine! Though it doesn’t stop that nagging feeling I get. Undyne says that she likes having me around, but I still feel like I’m sitting in on a date,” He admitted, shrugging, “When you arrived, I was glad to have someone else around who wasn’t in a romantic relationship- I mean, you are but, at least he wasn’t with you- not that that would be a bad thing! I’m sure he’s a fun person to be around,” Papyrus lied, not really sure what he thought of Danny after how he acted at the party. He’d still give him the benefit of the doubt for now. 

“Nah, he wouldn’t be with me, he’s only ever met Alphys once,” Mettaton thought back to that moment. Danny had spent the whole time asking her about life as a “normal person” and how difficult it must be having such a “low-paying job”. It wasn’t the best experience Mettaton had ever had.

Papyrus pulled over then, bringing the car to a stop at the side of the road.

He began, “So... what did you want to do? I can just take you home if you really wanted but I really don’t mind if you wanted to go out somewhere, I can tell Alphys and Undyne to go ahead without me.”

“Are you... sure that’s appropriate?” Mettaton said so quietly his voice was almost a whisper.

“I don’t see why it wouldn't be!” Papyrus said in a volume much louder, exuding confidence, “We’re friends now, right?”

Mettaton couldn’t argue with that. He certainly liked the idea of being friends with Papyrus, and he'd enjoyed every interaction he'd had with him so far. It would be nice to get to know him better... Maybe then he’d be able to understand him more.

He took a deep breath, dispelling his doubts. “Okay, sure, let’s do it,” Mettaton said before he could change his mind, “Was there anywhere you had in mind?”

Papyrus scratched his jaw in thought, narrowing his eye sockets. “Well, seen as Undyne and Alphys are going to the festival- we can rule out that idea...” He said, not wanting to bump into them after making up an excuse for not going with them. “There’s always the park- I think they have a market set up there today... But that’s not really extravagant enough to take you-”

“Don’t be silly, darling, not everything I go to has to 'extravagant',” Mettaton assured him, “And plus, just where are you going to find somewhere fancy in five minutes? The park sounds nice.”

Papyrus smiled brightly. “Okay! Let me just call Undyne and tell her I won’t be going...”

~~~

They arrived at the park just moments later, leaving the car by the roadside nearby. Papyrus fretted for a moment that something would happen to it as he left it there, but he reluctantly parted with it, patting it gently as he turned away. He had to be there for his friend and that was more important to him than his car at that moment.

“You ready to go, Papyrus?” Mettaton asked, noticing his concerned face, “I’m sure your car will be fine here, I see people leave their cars parked around here all the time.” 

Papyrus nodded, standing beside Mettaton. “It’s just such a good car- in its own rights- a thief magnet! I just hope it’s still there when I return, or at least, not left a victim to hooligans.”

“Well, if anything happens to it, I’ll just buy you a new one,” Mettaton stated, as though it was nothing to him.

Papyrus tittered in reaction to this, not quite taking his words as truth.

“Oh? You think I’m lying?” Mettaton laughed, starting to walk down the road, prompting Papyrus to do the same.

It hit Papyrus then that Mettaton was deadly serious. He grinned and shook his head in disbelief, deciding not to make any more fuss about it. That was the life of a celebrity, he presumed. Spending money left and right, no matter how much it cost. Though, it still warmed his soul to think that Mettaton would spend money on _him_.

The park wasn’t exactly anything special, some stalls that were set up by locals looking to get rid of some old knick-knacks and trinkets that had been previously collecting dust in their basements and garages. Papyrus, upon seeing it, worried that it wouldn’t be up to Mettaton’s standards, no matter what he said. Mettaton deserved fine dining and fancy nights out, not a glorified car-boot sale. Mettaton, on the other hand, didn’t mind in the slightest. He thought the market was cute, a nice break from all the fussy events he usually went to. Whenever Danny took him anywhere, it was always for a reason, a way to meet important people or make connections. At least today, he was here just to relax.

“The weather is gorgeous today,” Mettaton remarked as he looked over a stall filled with cheap looking bracelets and plastic rings.

“It is! I wish I’d brought my sunglasses with me,” Papyrus said, squinting slightly.

Mettaton chuckled. “How does that work?” He asked, moving onto the next stall fleetingly.

“How does what work?” Papyrus asked in turn, doing an expert job of sticking close to Mettaton’s side as he wandered around.

“The sunglasses- do you have those that you strap to your face or-”

“No! I just use tape. It’s barely noticeable.” He smiled brightly. “And they make me look extra dashing.”

“Ha, I’m not sure that’s possible,” Mettaton tittered, waiting for Papyrus to say something about his compliment and raising an eyebrow when he didn’t. “Aren’t you going to scold me?”

Papyrus looked at him as though he was going out of his mind, “Why would I do something like that?”

“Because I just paid you a compliment and you usually say that’s ‘flirting’.” 

Papyrus shrugged. “Yes, I do. But that was when we didn’t know each other very well. I’ve decided since then that compliments are acceptable because we are friends,” He nodded to himself, “Friends compliment each other.”

Mettaton frowned. “So... what you’re saying is... now we know each other a bit better, the compliments mean less?”

“Well...” Papyrus stopped, trying to think it through, “I don’t know about ‘less’... I just know that I can now accept your compliments without having to see them as flirting.”

Mettaton rolled his eyes teasingly. “You could have just done that before, you know.”

“Yes, I suppose... But we have to have some benefits of becoming better friends- let’s just say that compliment giving is the first step.” 

“Oh?” Mettaton said, “And what’s the next step?”

Papyrus held his hands up. “I don’t know! I suppose we’ll discover that when we get to it.”

Mettaton laughed, “I look forward to it, darling.”

~~~

They looked around the stalls for a little while longer, finding they were strangely over-priced for the quality they were selling. After they’d given up looking for something worth their while, they walked away from the market and through the park. It wasn’t a big place, just a small lake in the middle and some paths to walk around, shaded by trees. There were also some benches placed by the lakeside which were situated in spots that drew out the scenic nature of the place. The tranquil water, still air and warm sun all made these spots the perfect place to relax on that day. And that’s what Mettaton and Papyrus did.

They picked a bench that pointed out towards the lake and watched a group of ducks as they waded peacefully in the water. Mettaton sighed as he sat there, not quite remembering the last time he’d allowed himself to just stop and rest like this. He was always so busy, filming, performing, recording and socialising that he never even thought about sitting on a bench at the park. Without Papyrus to suggest it, the idea would never have crossed his mind. 

“Thanks again for taking me out here, Papyrus,” Mettaton said, “If I’d have talked to Alphys like I'd planned, I’d probably have spent the whole time complaining to her anyway... This is much nicer.”

Papyrus shook his head. “You don’t have to keep thanking me, Mettaton, I’m happy that you’re happy.”

Mettaton smiled pleasantly for a moment, before thinking of something. “Hey, what did you say to Undyne anyway? I didn’t quite catch what your excuse was earlier.”

“Oh! I told her I had an emergency hair appointment that I’d forgotten about.” Then he looked away, trying to avoid Mettaton’s inevitably confused expression.

But Mettaton just smiled, trying not to laugh. “An ‘emergency hair appointment’?” 

“Maybe it wasn’t the best lie.”

“You don’t even have hair.”

“Perhaps that’s what the emergency was!”

That’s when Mettaton laughed. “And what did she say?”

“Nothing! She just laughed and I hung up out of embarrassment,” He said, “Though I’ll have to come up with a better story later- because I know she’ll ask me about it.”

“Why don’t you just tell her you were hanging out with me?” Mettaton asked.

“Because if she knew I would rather hang out with you than her, she’d... Well, I don’t know what she’d do but I don’t like the thought of it.” Papyrus shuddered. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Mettaton, but she doesn’t much like you.”

“Oh, I know that already, darling. I don’t like her either.”

Papyrus folded his arms. “Hmm, I don’t know why you two don’t get along. I like both of you.”

Mettaton twisted his mouth in thought. “Maybe I’m just too fabulous for her.”

Papyrus laughed. “Perhaps!”

And with the case of why Mettaton and Undyne don’t get along settled, so did they, falling back into a serene calm as they watched the little ducks on the lake paddling.

“Ah!” Papyrus gasped suddenly, making Mettaton jump, “You gave me a compliment earlier and I didn’t return it, how rude of me!”

Mettaton laughed. “It’s fine, Papyrus-”

“You look beautiful today! Your dress is lovely and... it brings out the grey of your eyes!” He said suddenly, as if this was something he’d been dying to tell him all day. The compliments were spilling out of him like he'd been holding them back for years. 

Mettaton smiled, feeling a tinge in his cheeks which he hoped he could blame on the heat. “Thank you, Papyrus, that’s very sweet of you.” And then he bit his lip teasingly. “But I believe, by your rules, that means I owe you two compliments.”

“It does?”

“Yes, I gave you a compliment, which you returned with three... So, I owe you two.”

“I didn’t know friendship was so complicated!”

Mettaton chuckled. “You’re the one who came up with this rule, Papyrus.”

“I suppose I am. But don’t feel obliged to give me any more compliments, you don’t have to-”

But Mettaton cut him off, “Your laugh is cute and I like your fashion sense,” He nodded to himself, as if he was agreeing with his own words, “There, we’re even.”

Papyrus, who was trying to keep his cheeks from beaming, smiled. “I sure hope so! I don’t think I could handle any more compliments.”

“Me neither,” Mettaton said through light laughs, “Do you have this many friendship rules with Undyne?”

“Hmm,” Papyrus said as he thought, “Not really! Though I think I should set some up... First rule! No more noogie-ing Papyrus.”

“An excellent start.”

“No more puke jokes in front of Papyrus!”

“Another brilliant addition.”

“No more berating of Mettaton!” 

Mettaton laughed. “You’re gonna bring me into your friendship rules with Undyne?”

“Well, I’m tired of hearing her complain about you. Whenever I try to watch one of your shows, she’s there with something to say! It’s exhausting really, even though I know she’s only teasing.”

“Hmm? What kind of things does she say?” Mettaton asked out of sheer curiosity.

Papyrus hesitated, not wanting to insult Mettaton, though he highly doubted he cared about Undyne’s opinion that much. “She says things like ‘he’s so full of himself’, ‘all he talks about is himself’, ‘you’re only watching that to stare at his a-” Papyrus stopped suddenly, remembering who he was talking to, “A...Ankles! Ankles, yes- I don’t know why Undyne says that. She’s weird like that,” He said hurriedly, looking out at the water, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. That was a close call.

But Mettaton wasn’t about to let that slip by, “Ankles? Huh, for a moment there I was _sure_ you were about to say 'ass',” He said, smiling devilishly.

Papyrus gasped, sputtering, “I would never- I- how could you even suggest-”

Mettaton laughed throwing his head back as he did so.

“Don’t worry, darling, you wouldn’t be the first to appreciate it,” He said when the laughter subsided, still a little breathless. “You’re hilarious.”

Papyrus shook his head. “I don’t try to be.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. You’re... unorthodox, sure, but that makes you charming. Anyone would be glad to have you as a friend, just for the entertainment.”

A light frown crossed Papyrus’ features, and Mettaton worried briefly that he’d insulted him.

“What is it, Papyrus?”

His face brightened again when he asked him. “Oh, I’m just trying to work out how many compliments you just gave me so I can return them.”

Mettaton laughed for what felt like the millionth time that day and shrugged. “Forget about that, I’m a naturally complimentary person, we’ll be here for hours if we keep this up.” Though Mettaton wouldn’t deem that as a terribly bad thing. He could have sat and chatted all day if he could.

They sat for a while longer, playing back moments from their conversation in their heads and amusing themselves. Mettaton couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun just talking to someone. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun at all, in fact. He’d have to talk to Papyrus more often. He was like fruit, sweet and good for your health, yet addictive like chocolate. Mettaton looked over to him where he was sat and Papyrus looked back, a soft look adorning his face. For a skeleton, Papyrus was incredibly expressive. His sweet smiles made him look so endearing, Mettaton just wanted to caress his jaw whenever he saw them. But he kept himself from doing so. That would be too far. Too intimate. And even though Mettaton was quite a touchy-feely person, something told him that being so with Papyrus would be a fatal mistake. Not just because it might give him the wrong idea and cause him to think he was flirting, as he had before, but Mettaton was also growing increasingly concerned about his own feelings. He was happy being friends with Papyrus. More than happy, in fact. But if he became even slightly more intimate with him he worried how much more attached to him he’d grow. And he couldn’t go there. Not when he was with Danny. He just wouldn’t.

Once they’d sat at that bench for around an hour, laughing and chatting, making conversation about Mettaton’s work and Papyrus’ lazy brother, they finally decided it was time to part ways. Mettaton had to make amends with Danny at some point and Papyrus had to go and give Undyne a better excuse for not going to the festival. Mettaton suggested again to tell her he’d preoccupied himself with entertaining him, and Papyrus was starting to see it as his only option. That, or carry on with the ‘emergency hair appointment’ story from earlier. Papyrus thought it had potential, though whether he had the heart to lie to Undyne any further was another story. He often found lying to his friends difficult. He just didn’t like doing it.

Mettaton and Papyrus walked back to where they’d left the car leisurely, feeling much more relaxed than when they’d arrived, both taking a mental note to return to the park when they could, preferably with each other.

Papyrus was beyond relieved to find his car still there when they got back to it, and not even left 'victim to hooligans' like he’d worried. He opened the passenger door for Mettaton and got into the driver’s seat, smiling as he heard the familiar purr of the engine as it started up. He petted the dashboard lovingly before setting off, noticing Mettaton watching him with great interest.

“Does your girlfriend have a name?” Mettaton teased.

Papyrus blushed, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Your car- she got a name? You seem ever so affectionate towards her,” He pressed, his gaze burning a hole in the side of Papyrus’ face.

“First of all, my car is male.”

“Of course it is.”

“And his name is Carlito,” He told him unashamed, stroking the steering wheel as he spoke.

Mettaton tried his best to stifle a laugh this time. “Carlito, huh? Is that a pun?”

“...Yes.”

“That just makes it better,” Mettaton chuckled, feeling a little tired after all the laughing he’d partaken in that day, “I’m sure you and your car boyfriend are very happy.”

Papyrus nodded his head, tittering. “We are, exceptionally happy,” He said, playing along.

“Your children will look like the Grim Reaper-mobile.”

“Oh! My God!” Papyrus exclaimed, laughing, “I don’t even want to know how that would work.”

“What- the reproduction or the birth?”

“None of it!”

Mettaton chuckled, feeling his battery depleting as he did so. He still had a long way to go before he ran out, but he was beginning to feel the effects of drowsiness come over him.

They sat in a comfortable quiet for the rest of the ride, both feeling sated from a long, happy day out. Even if Undyne and Alphys were still at the festival, Papyrus felt like going home and seeing what his brother was doing. He’d feel like a third wheel more than ever now that Mettaton was going home. He’d just spend the whole time thinking about him and ignoring Undyne.

Papyrus pulled up outside Mettaton’s house, marvelling discreetly at the grandeur of it. There was a sweeping garden that lead up to the front door, hundreds of bright blooming flowers gracing the path. He almost wanted to walk Mettaton to his door, just to see all of the beautiful flowers... But that felt a little too date-like. He’d never walked Undyne to her door, and she wouldn’t let him if he tried either.

Though he did still open his door for him and walk him around the car. He did have some manners.

“How chivalrous!” Mettaton said as he walked around the car with him, “You’re such a gentleman.”

“I’d like to think so,” Papyrus said, “You were my guest today! I was happy to entertain you.”

Mettaton smiled, making his cheeks ache from all the grinning he’d been doing. “And I’d like to thank you, just once more, because I really appreciate your ‘entertainment’.” He placed a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. “Thank you.”

“It's no problem, Mettaton!”

“And I’ve just decided what the next step in our friendship will be,” Mettaton said, and before he could stop himself, he pulled Papyrus into a hug. It was necessary, he told himself, unable to resist hugging the sweet skeleton any longer. Papyrus found his limbs to be frozen solid for a whole second, keeping him stuck still. Though, once that second had passed, he warmed to the embrace with cheeriness, placing his own arms around his unexpected hugger. There was a gentleness in the way Papyrus hugged. A softness that wouldn’t have been guessed from someone who was usually so exuberant and full of energy. He hugged with the sole intent of comforting and that’s exactly what he did. Mettaton, being on the receiving end of such a hug, found himself unwilling to let go. That moment was so pleasant, Papyrus’ arms placed so tenderly and so warmly that Mettaton wished he could keep still in that one pose for the rest of eternity. He doubted he’d ever get bored of the sensation.

Finally, Mettaton pulled away, knowing that he’d have to let the poor skeleton go after a while. Like it or not, they both had lives to go and live, and these lives both veered off in the opposite direction. 

_But not if we tried,_ Mettaton mused carelessly, not quite understanding his own feelings. He wanted to keep Papyrus around. Having Papyrus as a friend could just be the strength he needed to get through life’s daily struggles. Papyrus could be that missing link in his life, that spoonful of sugar that made everything easier. Perhaps even his relationship with Danny would run more smoothly if he had someone sweet like Papyrus to chat to at the end of the day. But as Mettaton thought about this, Papyrus said his goodbyes and drove off in his car. Before Mettaton knew it, he’d been left alone outside his house and he realised just how little he knew Papyrus, now that the spell of being so enraptured with him was beginning to wear off. Just how desperate was he for something new, if a trip to the park was enough to send him so ecstatic? He wasn’t sure of the cause of it and didn’t know whether he wanted to know. 

For now, he’d just have to go and chat with Danny and make amends. He’d acted like a child that morning and he was beginning to see why Danny so often treated him like one. He hated to think it. Mettaton used to be his own person, someone with the strength to never let anyone get away with talking down to him. And now he was even beginning to believe the words being said to him.

Danny wasn’t intentionally condescending, Mettaton knew that. But just how much should he let slip by before he snapped like usual? Would he be able to hold his tongue, like he’d promised himself? Or would that have larger detrimental factors Mettaton didn’t even want to think about?

He knew one thing for certain: staying with Danny was key to his success, and he couldn’t let him go just because he was struggling now. Things would get better in time. They had to.

Either he’d learn to love Danny, or live without love. It was that simple.

~~~

As Papyrus was driving home, he was having a mental dilemma of his own.

The day he’d spent with Mettaton was perfect, even if they’d done very little. He’d seen Mettaton laugh so sincerely and so carefree, they’d spoken about small things that had entertained the both of them and the hug. _The hug_. That was something that would stay in his mind for a long time, but not willingly.

He wanted so badly to think of Mettaton as a friend. He’d love to count Mettaton as such and thought he could easily do so, if he kept telling himself that’s what he was.

So far it wasn’t working.

It would have been much simpler if Mettaton had joined them at the festival. That way, he would have just been another member of his group of friends, and it would have been easier to count him as one. Well, that’s what Papyrus guessed, at least. But their trip to the park, which Papyrus admits _was_ due to his own suggestion, was very intimate, even between friends. If it had been a date, Papyrus would have called it one of the best, even if he’d had very little experience himself.

But he wouldn’t push anything. Mettaton was set to get married to another and there was nothing he could do about it. And he wouldn’t want to either. Papyrus wasn’t about to ruin a relationship for his own happiness, and who could say that Mettaton would even want that. For all Papyrus knew, Mettaton was extremely satisfied in his relationship with Danny, and would be shocked to hear of Papyrus’ romantic feelings towards him. He didn’t want to be the one to tell him either.

Papyrus would carry on being his friend, because even though he knew Mettaton had friends, like Alphys, Naptsablook and surely many others, by the sincerity he put into that final hug and his constant ‘thank you’s, he felt as though he needed someone like Papyrus to be there for him when the others couldn’t. If he needed a Papyrus in his life, then that’s what Papyrus planned to do.

And he’d have to learn to be satisfied with that. Because the alternative was just too terrifying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading! Sorry for the wait, but I've just come back from holiday and uploaded this as soon as I could! Hopefully I can speed up a little...
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this! They're growing closer, but are they ready to grow any closer than they already are? We'll have to see... Next time!


	5. A Sudden Rush of Euphoria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton's life is supposed to be easy when he's marrying someone like Danny, and he can often convince himself that this is true. But sometimes the truth comes out to bite at him, and he doesn't know how to deal with it.
> 
> *WARNING* There are some implied scenes within this chapter- nothing explicit but very obvious as to what's taking place. If that isn't your cup of tea- consider yourself warned.

A few days passed since Mettaton and Papyrus hung out at the park. In that time Mettaton had heard nothing from Papyrus, both of them going about their lives like normal. Papyrus kept working with Frisk and trained with Undyne. Mettaton stuck loyally by Danny’s side and doted on him like any other fiancé would be expected to. He’d found time with him passed easier when he stopped picking fights all the time. He laughed at his guests’ terrible jokes. He kept his mouth shut when he heard a stupid opinion. He even admitted when he was in the wrong. And after all of that, when the fights were less often and the atmosphere was less tense, something inside Mettaton still felt off.

After around five days, Mettaton was awoken groggily by his phone buzzing on the bedside table. He snatched it up quickly and silenced it, not wanting to wake Danny and be the cause of another bad night's sleep. He unlocked his phone and squinted at the bright light, taking note of the time that shone like a bad omen. Five am. Who was even awake at that time? When Mettaton investigated the source of the buzzing, he realised that it was Papyrus in text-form.

“Hello, Mettaton! I realised this morning that I hadn’t made proper use of your number that you so kindly offered to me if we ever needed to chat. After realising this I had to text you at once! What if you’ve been expecting to chat with me all this time and felt as though I were giving you the metaphorical ‘cold shoulder’? Which would be absurd because my shoulders are very warm! P.S. I have taken the liberty of not typing in all capitals this once, as I would like to save your morning eyes from such brash and loud words. I understand some people find mornings more difficult to adjust to than others! ~Papyrus”

Mettaton stared at the essay-length text for a while, a million questions running through his head. The way he signed his name at the end was cute, he texted formally like he was writing a letter. It seemed that this guy never went halves on anything. After a couple of minutes, Mettaton sent his reply.

“You usually type in all capitals?” He typed. It was the question he was most intrigued by.

After what seemed like a mere two seconds, his reply came through, “Yes! I believe it gives my words an added oomph!” 

Mettaton chuckled quietly and then looked over at Danny, trying not to wake him.

A second message came through before Mettaton could reply, “My brother doesn’t even have the decency to use capital letters at all! It’s almost as if he doesn’t have the energy to press the button!”

“The horror!” Mettaton sent back teasingly, quickly followed by a second text, “Do you usually wake up this early, darling?”

“I do! I like to make the most of my day and I can’t do that if I’m wasting it, lying idly in bed!” He replied and Mettaton rolled his eyes. Papyrus was always so energetic, it actually surprised him that his most prized possession was his car. He could imagine someone like Papyrus running everywhere to keep in top physical shape. He guessed even people like Papyrus needed luxuries. That was something Mettaton could respect. Papyrus had a high standard when it came to the way he presented himself. He was a skeleton with dignity! 

Mettaton thought about his next message a little longer, his brain not fully functioning yet due to the time. “Have any plans for the day, honey?” He finally typed, waiting shortly before Papyrus’ answer flashed up, just moments later.

“Yes! I’m going out with Undyne for training like usual, and then it’s grocery shopping because Sans has eaten everything we own and when I get back, I have some paperwork to go through with Frisk... though that shouldn’t take long! I’m a speedy worker. :D.”

Mettaton looked at the little emoticon at the end, wondering why it seemed even cuter when it was sent by Papyrus. 

“Such a hard-working man! I hope you can spare the time to come and see me again one day. I very much enjoyed the last time we were together.” Mettaton held his thumb over the send button for a moment before adding a small “:)”, hoping it showed friendliness.

Papyrus quickly returned with another message, “I enjoyed it too! When I get some spare time, I will inform you! I look forward to getting to know you better ;)”

That winky face at the end stared Mettaton in the eyes like it wanted to undress him. What did he mean by that? Did he suddenly want more from this relationship than he’d previously let on? Had he always wanted this? 

Two whole seconds later, another frantic message from Papyrus came through, “IGNORE THAT WINKING SMILE! THAT WAS NOT INTENDED!”

And then another, “I APOLOGISE FOR THAT TERRIBLE BLUNDER OF MINE!”

And another, “I WOULD NEVER USE THAT VILE EMOJI IN A CIVILISED CONVERSATION. I WANT YOUR FRIENDSHIP, NOT TO OFFER MY BODY TO YOU ON A PLATE LIKE SOME SORT OF BONEY PRE-COURSE APPETISER!”

Mettaton took a deep breath, laughing quietly with relief. “It’s fine, Papyrus! You’re forgiven. I think we’ve all made that mistake once.”

“WE HAVE?” Papyrus asked, apparently settling with his usual upper case typing now that he’d started it.

“I once replied to an important email that stated ‘Your service has been of much value to us, we look forward to contacting you in the future’. And, I was a little, tiny, bit inebriated at the time and replied with ‘Oh don’t you worry, you can use my services again anytime you want, darling ;).’”

There was a long pause before Papyrus finally sent a message back, “I'M SORRY I DISAPPEARED FOR A MOMENT. I WAS HAVING A PROBLEM DECIDING WHETHER I WAS HUMOURED BY YOUR STORY OR HORRIFIED.” And then there was another message, “MY LAUGHTER SUGGESTS THE FORMER.”

Mettaton raised an eyebrow. “I’m glad you find my problems entertaining.”

“I DO!” 

“What a gentleman! I confide my deepest secrets to you and you laugh at them!” Mettaton teased.

“MAYBE IF YOU MADE YOUR PLIGHTS LESS AMUSING, I’D BE ABLE TO TREAT THEM WITH MORE SYMPATHY.”

Mettaton’s eyes widened. Papyrus knew how to tease. That would definitely change things. Mettaton enjoyed poking gentle fun every now and then. It was even more fun when the person he was talking to knew how to give it back.

“Oho, that’s how you want to play this, huh?”

Their conversation went on for another half an hour before Papyrus had to part with him to go and meet with Undyne. Mettaton smiled at his phone for a while. Papyrus was so addictive to talk to, regardless of whether it was face-to-face or just through texts, he just couldn’t wait to hear more from him. 

But for now, he could get some more sleep and wake up again at a more reasonable time. Mettaton also had a busy day ahead of him and didn’t want to look half-asleep throughout all of it. 

~~~

At midday, both Danny and Mettaton were ready to walk on set together. They were being interviewed live on one of the biggest shows on daytime television. The pre-show excitement was already tingling in Mettaton’s stomach, almost making him feel nauseated. He loved being the centre of attention, when the lights were pointed at him and the audience cheered and screamed at everything he said. The feeling was euphoric. Addictive. Being an entertainer was everything and more to him.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome your next guests, the world’s most lovable couple, Danny and Mettaton!” The host announced, followed by a raucous applause from the audience. Mettaton took a deep breath and Danny held out an arm for him. They walked out, arm in arm, both in complementary suits that made them look as if they were made for each other. The audience screamed even louder when they came into view, greeted by Mettaton’s charming smile and Danny’s gracious wave. They walked casually to the seat across from the host, who stood to greet them.

As they all settled, when the crowd had quietened and the celebrity couple were sat comfortably, the host began.

“I’m going to start this by saying, you two look absolutely gorgeous! Don’t you guys think?” She said, turning to the audience, to which they cheered in agreement. The host had blonde hair pulled back into an elegant ponytail and wore deep blue chiffon dress that draped around her ankles. 

“Oh thank you, darling,” Mettaton said in return, “I must ask, where is your dress from-”

“Ohhh no. No no,” Danny interrupted playfully, shaking his head.

“What’s the problem?” The host asked, smiling at them charismatically.

Danny turned to Mettaton with a mischievous smile. “We’ve spoken about this, you have too many dresses,” Then he turned to the host, “Please don’t tell him where you got that dress. He’ll find the store and then buy every dress in there.”

The audience laughed and Mettaton rolled his eyes, chuckling as well.

The host gasped, “You can never have too many dresses! Mettaton, don’t worry, we’ll talk dresses later,” She winked and Danny sighed. “What we have to talk about _now_ is... your new show!” The audience ‘oohed’.

It was Danny who spoke up first, “Yes! We have high hopes for it. We’ve already started recording some of the scenes.”

Mettaton spoke shortly after, “It has a little something for everyone! There’s comedy and romance, but there’s also a few moments that will pull on your heartstrings. It’s basically... a view into the life of Danny and Mettaton!”

“Oh my, well that sounds incredible! ...And you guys will be playing the parts of yourself?” The host asked. The audience hushed in anticipation of their answer.

“We will!” Mettaton replied, “Who else could possibly play the role of Mettaton better than himself?” He turned to his dear fiancé, taking his hand in his own, “And how could I possibly play my own part without my wonderful Danny by my side?”

The audience let out an affectionate ‘aww’ and Mettaton smiled, almost to himself. He knew all the tricks to gain people’s interest. A hand placed delicately on Danny’s arm, a scoot closer, a warm look, a loving smile- the list was endless. People were obsessed with the love they had and whenever they caught sight of said love taking place in front of them, they were enthralled. 

“And of course, there’s the wedding, we just _have_ to discuss the wedding,” The host said, once the topic of their upcoming show was over. “I’ve heard rumours that you’re going to broadcast the ceremony live on air. But you haven’t confirmed anything yet- is this true?”

Mettaton chuckled. “Oh, you people really are obsessed. I’m not even sure how you find this stuff out!”

“So it’s true?”

Danny spoke this time, after a deliberated silence, “Yes, it’s true. We want the whole world to attend our wedding... In a metaphorical sense.”

“Who could be better guests than our loyal fans?” Mettaton said, blowing a kiss to the audience. He could have sworn he saw someone faint.

“That’s so exciting!” The host said, holding her hands up to her cheeks in astonishment, “Well, you are celeb royalty. Why not give us a royal wedding to go along with it?” She laughed, “And this wedding will be perfect for all sorts of representation.”

Mettaton sat up straighter, this was one of his favourite subjects.

“First, we have the fact that you two are probably the most famous celebrity couple in the world- and you’re a gay couple.”

Mettaton nodded, smiling delightedly. Upon reaching the surface, Mettaton had found that the humans were much less accepting of sexuality than the monsters. He didn’t understand it for a long while, and even went as far as despising the people who made him feel bad about who he was. But then he turned that around and decided to just ignore those people. His fans were louder than them, anyway. Instead of paying attention to the disgusting people who thought being gay was something to be frowned upon, he spent his energy helping the LGBT community, donating vast amounts of money to charities and even holding pride events to help encourage representation around the world. 

And now he was being told in an interview just how good a job he was doing. He was thrilled.

“And not only are you two brilliant at supporting the LGBT community, you’re also making the world more aware that monsters and humans can get along in peace. As we all know- there have been some people who are wholeheartedly against the idea of monsters being integrated into our society. But you two are living proof that that’s a load of crap.”

The audience laughed and Mettaton’s soul raced. Being with Danny was helping with everything he’d ever wanted. Sure, Mettaton’s mind was ever on the fame and the fortune, and Danny certainly helped with that, but the way that their relationship was also helping their fans made Mettaton ecstatic. The love he had for his fans outweighed anything. They had been there with him from the start of his career. His first fan had been his cousin, and they had been so incredibly loyal to him ever since, even when he left them behind. He’d have gotten nowhere if it wasn’t for his fans. This was his way of giving back.

“Do people ever come up to you guys and thank you for everything you’ve done? I imagine you guys get that a lot-”

Mettaton spoke up at once, “Oh, all the time! And, let me tell you, it feels just as good every time. There are some people who approach me- just thank me for being so open about who I am and how it’s made their own life easier in some way- whether it’s someone who was struggling with coming out, or someone who just couldn’t accept their own sexuality, or maybe a monster would come up to me and thank me for making life with the humans easier- I just want to thank _them_ because it’s my beautiful fans I do this for.”

The audience went wild then, yelling and clapping, a raucous, riotous applause that sent unadulterated bliss through Mettaton’s body. His physical being was there on the couch being interviewed, but his head was in the clouds. He wasn’t taking in the questions anymore, he couldn’t think anymore, he couldn’t feel anything anymore. It felt like he was floating. This is what he had always wanted, ever since he was a ghost. He’d achieved the dream, and it felt so good, so enrapturing. He heard Danny answering questions beside him, he felt him wrap an arm around his waist and Mettaton came to a realisation. In that very moment, he was in love with Danny. Maybe not so much with him as a person, but he was in love with everything he had given to him. He’d changed his life so much for the better. Mettaton had never felt so incredibly grateful towards one person in his life and he couldn’t bear to think what would happen if he let him go.

When they got home after that evening, it seems that the feeling that made Mettaton’s head reel had not yet left. As soon as they got through the door, Mettaton pulled Danny towards him with a new sense of vigour and pressed his mouth to his. Danny’s kisses were never very good at evoking much emotion, but Mettaton had enough of that for the both of them in that moment. Mettaton was determined that this was the day that he’d feel something greater, something that made every worry in his mind go away. Mettaton kissed him, and then kissed him again, forcing his mouth open with his lips and sighed when he complied.

After a few seconds, Danny pulled back slightly. “What’s got into you all of a sudden?” 

Mettaton didn’t answer, he curled his arms around Danny, pulling him closer, and pressed his lips back to his mouth.

Danny pulled away once more, a little breathless. “Are you... In the mood to-”

Mettaton cut him off, pressing one long, ardent kiss upon his lover before he stepped back, taking him by the hand and leading him to the bedroom. 

~~~

It didn’t take long before the euphoric effect of being worshipped by fans wore off. He lay in bed, not fifteen minutes later, looking over at Danny’s contented form with a renewed feeling of disinterest. Now that the adrenaline had died down and his mind had a chance to think straight, he felt less joyous than ever. When he was on stage, he had a distraction. There was always something he had to do, someone to talk to, someone to tell him how great he was doing. And he believed it. He always believed it. And for the most part, he could tell himself that Danny was the most important thing in his life if he wanted to keep experiencing such euphoria. He just wished that feeling could extend itself to his home life. He was convinced that this was the day that it had finally happened. He’d felt love for Danny that could make everything so much easier. But it wore off. Like it usually did. Like it always did.

He got up and showered, dressing in something much less formal than before and sat himself in the living room. He pulled a blanket over himself and curled up in it, wondering if Danny was going to come downstairs and join him, but knowing all too well that now that he’d got what he wanted, he’d stay by upstairs by himself. Mettaton felt a little dejected at the thought. He’d just offered him his body, was it really so unusual to expect something in return? Even if it was just a cuddle or a kiss on the forehead. It was then, when Mettaton sat by himself in front of the television, not really taking in what he was seeing, that he realised that he needed more. He needed an emotional connection with _somebody_. He just couldn’t seem to get that close bond with Danny, the feeling that he was appreciated and loved, that feeling that he was needed for something other than sex, though he knew Danny was okay with this lacking emotion. But Mettaton wasn’t. 

The problem was, that Danny already offered him so much, and Mettaton had taken it so eagerly. He gave him the career he’d so desperately prayed for his whole life, and all he asked for in return was to be in a relationship.

Mettaton felt selfish for expecting anything more from him. But who else could fill that role that Danny was so blatantly missing? Really, it was just a friend that he needed, at least that’s what he told himself. Though Alphys just made him feel guilty whenever he spoke to her and his cousin wasn’t much better. In fact, Mettaton didn’t have many close friends that he hadn’t screwed over in the past. The only person he could think of was... Papyrus.

He sighed, wondering what it was about that skeleton that made him so excited. Was he really that special? Or was it because he was just a normal guy, the complete opposite of Danny, that made him feel like he was breathing fresh air whenever he spoke to him. Mettaton wasn’t sure. He barely knew Papyrus, that was one problem. How could he be so sure that he was as sweet as he first appeared? 

At long last, as Mettaton’s increasing sense of his own loneliness crept up on him, he picked up his phone, sending Papyrus a short message.

“Hello, Papyrus, darling. I was just wondering how your day went. You sounded so busy this morning! I hope you’ve been able to take a break. Even the busiest people have to take time out for themselves sometimes.”

Mettaton closed his phone and placed it down on the table, not expecting Papyrus to answer as quickly as he did. In a matter of seconds, his phone buzzed and Mettaton swooped it back up again.

“Hello, Mettaton! There is no need to worry about my busy-ness! I finished with my chores a few hours back and have since been treating myself to a self-given spa day!” And then he sent another message, “WHOOPS! I FORGOT TO ADD OOMPH TO THAT LAST MESSAGE!”

And almost like magic, Mettaton’s worries pushed themselves to the back of his mind and he smiled, replying, “A self-given spa day? That sounds wonderful.”

“IT IS! THOUGH I HAVE DECIDED TO LEAVE OUT THE LIMES THIS TIME! TIP- DO NOT PUT LIMES IN YOUR EYES, IT’S GOOD FOR NO ONE.”

Mettaton cracked up, laughing carelessly at this skeleton’s ridiculous antics. “Why on earth would you put limes in your eyes?”

“WELL, I HAVE SINCE BEEN INFORMED THAT IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE CUCUMBERS, BUT WHO COULD POSSIBLY KNOW THE DIFFERENCE? I DO. I KNOW THE DIFFERENCE. ONE MAKES YOUR EYES BURN WITH THE HEAT OF A THOUSAND SACRIFICIAL BONFIRES AND THE OTHER IS PLEASANT AND RELAXING. BUT WHO KNOWS! I COULD BE ON TO A NEW BEAUTY SECRET!”

“Perhaps you are, darling, but forgive me if I don’t try that one.”

“UNDERSTANDABLE!”

They spoke like this for another hour, and Mettaton felt his stress alleviating with each passing minute. He felt as though he could just chat about anything with Papyrus and he’d be able to make the conversation entertaining. It was like a void was being filled, that lonely part in Mettaton’s life being absorbed by the avid attention this skeleton was giving him. And he knew that Papyrus didn’t expect anything more from him. He was a skeleton with morals and he appreciated that. Mettaton loved his life with Danny, some parts more than others, but he still needed someone he could laugh with, someone who could distract him when all he could feel was anger or annoyance. He needed, beyond all else, a friend who he hadn’t betrayed yet. And this time, he didn’t intend to.

~~~

Papyrus had put everything down when he saw he had a message from Mettaton. He figured that even if he was incredibly busy, he would still be able to put off whatever he was doing in order to reply. He thought the world of Mettaton, he always had, even when he was just a fan. And he liked him even more now that he knew him in real life. They say ‘don’t meet your heroes’, Papyrus had heard this saying before, but he hardly knew why. Mettaton was just as brilliant as he’d always expected, even more so, if he was being honest. But as they were sending each other their goodbyes, Papyrus realised something that he’d been keeping himself from thinking. He pushed thought back, putting the phone down and stepped outside into the garden.

It couldn’t be. He didn’t allow himself to feel it. But that thought just kept returning, and at long last, with a shaky breath, he allowed himself to think it.

“God, I’m in love with him,” He sighed, the words alone catching in his throat slightly.

He felt terrible for even thinking it. Mettaton had only ever wanted friendship from him, and he had to go and make everything complicated. He wouldn’t let Mettaton know about this, or anyone else for that matter. It wasn’t something he should ever burden someone else with knowing. He loved him, that was obvious at this point, but only he could know. Mettaton was engaged, for God’s sake! He can’t ruin something as precious as that! And surely Mettaton would be repulsed to learn that he thought of him in that way. He might even want to stop talking to him, and that would be the worst thing in the world.

Maybe this is why they say 'don’t meet your heroes', Papyrus thought to himself bitterly, because they either don’t meet your expectations, or you fall deathly in love with them. It’s a dangerous game either way. 

He’d have to keep all of this to himself, for everyone’s sake, including his own. The more he allowed himself to think about his love for Mettaton, the more it became real in his mind. And that just made everything a million times more painful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! Slightly shorter chapter (but still pretty damn long). I hope you enjoyed this one- don't worry they'll get to see each other again soon, and if you can't tell- they're beginning to think of each other pretty highly. Like, calm down Papyrus. He's too gay for his own good (we've all been there, it's okay Pappy),
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a good day! All comments are treasured by me, so please don't hesitate to leave one if you enjoyed it <3


	6. It's Called Falling in Love Because You Hit the Ground.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton and Papyrus have been spending more and more time with one another, and even though Mettaton's work-life is getting more hectic, it seems that has leisure-time doesn't want to give him a break either. 
> 
> (A slightly longer chapter this time, as there was a lot of things I needed to cover- I hope you enjoy!)

Over the course of what seemed like only a few days, Mettaton’s life got profoundly busier. He’d began planning, writing and recording the episodes of his new show and it took up the most of his spare time. It was a long, never-ending process, but at least he had Danny to help him out when he could. Though Mettaton put in most of the work towards the script writing and costume design, Danny found his main expertise lied simply in acting, and struggled to help Mettaton regarding some elements. Mettaton didn’t mind so much, he liked being given a lot of work, it kept him busy and kept his mind in gear. After all, starting a new show was exciting! It was something to look forward to, something new to entertain his fans with. 

All that extra work didn’t come without a price, though. It meant he saw his friends less and relaxed almost never. 

That was until Papyrus found out about this. Now, Papyrus wasn’t really someone who could judge overworking, he did so all the time, even foregoing sleep most days just to get more tasks done. But when Mettaton revealed through a text conversation that he might be working a little too hard, Papyrus made it his mission to try and help. And he did this in the only way he could, by offering his company.

By asking Mettaton to join him at the park every now and then, he was also convincing him to unwind a little, to put his work to the side for a moment and just sit with him. After all, this was something Papyrus needed too, and so they both benefited from their little trips out.

~~~

Papyrus was waiting for him on their usual bench with his legs pulled up and crossed, taking pictures of the ducks on the lake with his phone. He’d have to remember to bring birdseed next time. He was sure Mettaton would enjoy feeding the ducks as much as he did.

“Papyrus!” Mettaton’s voice called out behind him, alerting the skeleton of his arrival.

Papyrus turned around to greet him, but stopped when he saw what he was wearing. 

“Don’t I look fabulous?” He asked, posing dramatically before him, “Guess who I got inspiration from.”

Papyrus put his finger to his chin in thought as Mettaton sat by him. The robot was beaming ear to ear as Papyrus looked over his clothes. He was wearing a blue bedazzled crop top and black shorts along with white sneakers. 

“Wowie!” Papyrus exclaimed, taking it all in, “You’re dressed like me!”

“Sure am, darling. I don’t know why you look so shocked, I’ve always said I admired your style,” He said, sweeping his hand through his hair casually. 

“That’s very flattering!” Papyrus said, not quite being able to tear his eyes away. Eventually he did so, however, not wanting to make Mettaton uncomfortable.

Although, Mettaton didn’t mind in the slightest. He’d dressed up like this to entertain Papyrus, and it certainly seemed to work. Papyrus couldn’t hide the smile that was plastered across his face.

“Oh wait...” Mettaton sat up slightly, a light frown crossing his features.

Papyrus’ eyes scanned his expression quickly, hoping nothing was wrong. “What is it, Mettaton?”

Mettaton shook his head. “I forgot a main piece of the outfit- I don’t have a backwards cap!” He complained, looking fully annoyed with himself, “Darling, I’m ashamed of my own forgetfulness. Just imagine, _me_ , not fully committing to an outfit!”

Papyrus just shrugged his shoulders and chuckled. “That can be easily fixed, Mettaton!” And with that, he took the hat off of his own head and passed it to Mettaton, who took it gratefully.

“Wow, I really am being treated today, aren’t I? The hat from The Great Papyrus’ very own head,” He teased as he put the hat on, making sure to wear it backwards so he captured Papyrus’ style perfectly. “So, what’s the verdict? Do I look good?”

“You look incredible!” Papyrus enthused delightedly, “Almost as good as me!”

Mettaton turned to him slowly, a small shocked expression upon his face. “Almost?”

“Try not to be offended, Mettaton! It’s very difficult to wear my style quite in the same way I do! Only I can pull it off for the full effect!” Papyrus declared, wiggling his brow bone at him teasingly.

“How rude!” Mettaton gasped.

“I told you not to be offended!” Papyrus reminded him, shrugging his shoulders, “I only said that because I think your own style is perfect anyway. I wouldn’t change anything about you, personally. Not even dressing like me!” 

“Oh.” Mettaton said quietly, then he shook his head, “How did you manage to turn that into a compliment?”

Papyrus leant back on the bench, resting his arms along the top nonchalantly. “The trick to my charm is a secret! One that even I can’t quite understand, so I wouldn’t be able to explain it to you even if I wanted to- which I don’t.” He nodded to himself. “You have enough charm anyway. You don’t need to steal mine too.”

Mettaton laughed, leaning back on the bench as well. “That’s true.”

They both went quiet, looking out over the lake in front of them. Over on the other side, an old woman was walking her dog leisurely, some kids were feeding the ducks, a couple were walking hand-in-hand along the lake-side path. It was peaceful here, where nothing was expected from you. You could just sit and watch and that was perfectly acceptable. And whereas both Mettaton and Papyrus were energetic, workaholic people, the lake still held a precious place in their soul, because it was the only place they could really unwind without guilt. They knew that by being there, they were helping the other to relax, and that was important to the both of them.

After a little while, Papyrus’ pocket made a cheerful ‘ding’ noise and he took his phone out, looking at it grumpily like it had just interrupted something very important.

“It’s Undyne,” He muttered, causing Mettaton to roll his eyes. “She wants to hang out later... And she invited you?”

“What- really?” Mettaton asked, looking at him suspiciously. He scooted closer to Papyrus and looked at his phone with curiosity. 

Papyrus pointed it towards him, showing the message on the screen. “Hey Pap! Alph and I were planning on going out later but then we figured we should invite you, too. I know you’ve been feeling kinda weird around us lately ‘cause it’s just the three of us most of the time- so that’s why we’re gonna invite Mettaton too! Then you don’t have to feel like a third wheel, we’ll just be a group of friends hanging out! What’dya say?”

Mettaton frowned at the message like it had just insulted his jacket. “Do I have to go?” He asked, sighing dramatically. “She doesn’t even like me!”

“Well... you don’t _have_ to go,” Papyrus determined, “But how do you know you won’t enjoy it if you don’t go?”

“Hmm...” Mettaton hummed, taking his phone out of his own pocket to see a missed call from Alphys. He always turned his phone on silent when he went to the park with Papyrus so he could keep the rest of the world out of his mind. Though it seemed like the rest of the world had still found a way to get at him this time.

He dialled Alphys’ number and placed the phone to his ear, having to wait a little while for her to pick up, knowing that she was panicking on the other side because she didn’t like talking on the phone. Not even to Mettaton.

“Hello, darling!” Mettaton chimed when the call finally went through, “I’m sorry I missed your call, my phone was on silent.”

“Th-that’s okay, Mettaton,” She reassured, her voice sounding a little strained. “I w-wanted to ask you whether you wanted t-to go out tonight. To a bar? Undyne’s g-gonna be there too, and I-I know you don’t like her, but Papyrus might be going and you seemed to get along with him last time you met.”

Mettaton held his breath slightly upon hearing this. Alphys only knew about Mettaton and Papyrus meeting at the party and that time he gave him a lift home. Nothing else. No park trips or doghair-covered coats. Mettaton wasn’t quite sure why he kept these trips to himself, it was almost like it was more enjoyable if no one knew about his friendship with Papyrus. Like Papyrus was his secret to keep, his own personal skeleton of entertainment. And he knew Papyrus must feel the same way, because Undyne seemed none the wiser about the situation either.

“What’s in it for me?” Mettaton asked, giving Papyrus a quick glance and then looking back across the lake.

“Y-you get to drink alcohol with y-your friends.” 

Mettaton narrowed his eyes. Alphys knew him too well. “That does sound... rather delightful.”

“It’s settled then!” Alphys resolved.

“Wait- I didn’t say-”

“Thanks, M-Mettaton! You’re the best.”

And with that, she hung up. It seemed like she was trying to get the words out of her mouth as fast as she possibly could in order to end the phone conversation at the soonest possibility. Mettaton shook his head. She hadn’t even told him what bar they were going to. He guessed he’d just have to text her later.

~~~

Papyrus was more than delighted when Mettaton told him he’d be joining them tonight. If Mettaton became one of their friend group, it would make everything much more simple. He’d just see him as one of the gang, not just that guy he spent nice alone-time with every other week. He always wondered whether he told Danny about his whereabouts when they spent time together. He wasn’t sure why but he felt as though it was something Mettaton would keep to himself. It all seemed a little too intimate, especially from the view of Mettaton’s fiancé. But Papyrus told himself to stop being silly. Mettaton can have all the male friends he wants and Danny shouldn’t be any more worried than when Mettaton hung out with Alphys! Papyrus’ own personal romantic feelings towards him were completely irrelevant. He’d never act on them and he knew that Mettaton didn’t want anything more from him either. Hopefully once they’d all hung out together in a big group, it would ease the feeling of longing he had for him. That’s all he could hope.

“Mettaton? Are you going out somewhere?” Danny asked as he walked into the bedroom, seeing Mettaton pull on a grey denim jacket, his makeup was completely re-applied.

Mettaton hummed happily. “I am, I’m just heading out with a few friends. I shouldn’t be out too late,” He told him, “We’re going out for drinks.”

“Oh, okay then... I actually planned to take you out tonight. But if you already have plans...” Danny trailed off, looking a little deflated.

Mettaton looked at him with a sudden flare of anger. “You should have told me! I’d love to go out with you- but I’ve already told them I’m going. Danny, why didn’t you tell me earlier? You know I’m always asking you to go out with me,” Mettaton ranted, then his voice softened, “You could come out with us, if you wanted.”

Danny looked reluctant. “I don’t know, Mettaton. I think I’ll just stay in tonight.”

“You sure? It’s only a few of my friends, darling. It would be nice if you got to know them a little better.” 

“Yeah? Who’s going?” Danny asked, still not sounding convinced.

“Just Alphys, Undyne...” Mettaton said, noticing Danny’s interest dissolving with each passing second, “And Papyrus.”

Danny looked back at him with a look of recollection.

“The guy from the event? The skeleton?” He asked with urgency, startling Mettaton slightly.

“Yeah, that’s the guy. He’s a friend of Undyne’s.” He bit his lip, knowing he couldn’t get away with pretending he didn’t know him at all, especially if Danny was going to join them tonight. Anyone would be suspicious at how easily they spoke to each other after only meeting “once”. “Oh and, we’ve met up a couple of times afterwards. He’s a good guy,” He added, knowing that keeping this a secret from Danny in the first place was probably a stupid idea. 

Danny still had a hint of suspicion about his person, looking at Mettaton with contemplation.

“Okay, I’m going to come with you tonight,” He said, brushing past him to get to the wardrobe. “It would be nice to get to know your friends better anyway.”

Mettaton let out a breath, smiling gratefully. “It would be wonderful for you to be closer with them.” Though Mettaton couldn’t quite imagine them getting on. The one time he’d spoken to Alphys hadn’t gone well and she was the shyest of the group. He couldn’t even contemplate the idea of him being friends with Undyne. It was such a strange thought.

“And Mettaton?” Danny said, turning back to him with a small box he’d retrieved from the back of the wardrobe.

“What is it, darling?” Mettaton asked, moving closer to see what he had in his hand.

Danny held it out for him, “I’d bought this for you to wear when I took you out on that date. I suppose you can still wear it tonight,” He said as Mettaton took it in his hands curiously.

“Danny, you didn’t have to- Oh, it’s gorgeous,” Mettaton gasped in awe as he opened the box, revealing a necklace adorned with an elegant shining diamond. 

“It matches your engagement ring,” He pointed out, “See, it’s princess cut. I thought it would look nice on you.”

Mettaton raised a hand to his mouth as he looked at the necklace. It really was gorgeous. Beautiful, in fact. The thought that Danny had gone out of his way to make this night perfect for him and then he’d gone and made plans elsewhere almost made him feel guilty. But he still had the sense to realise that Danny was only doing this out of his own guilt. He’d left Mettaton feeling so neglected as of late, and had made very little effort to reconcile it. At least he was trying to make it up to him now.

“Put it on me,” Mettaton commanded, turning around and letting Danny drape the necklace around his neck. With quick fingers, he clasped the necklace shut and prompted Mettaton to turn around again.

“Beautiful,” Danny said, smiling at him, “I had intended you to wear it with more... fancy clothes but you still look good.”

“Thank you, honey,” Mettaton said, pecking him on the cheek. “So how about you go get changed and we head off, hmm? It’s nearly time to go.”

“Alright, I won’t be long, Mettaton.”

~~~

Papyrus, Undyne and Alphys were the first to arrive. Papyrus had driven to their house in his car, turning up around thirty minutes before they’d planned and made them walk to the bar before most people had even left their houses for the night. Papyrus didn’t mind, he liked being early. It meant he didn’t miss anything.

His only problem was convincing Undyne to not start drinking alcoholic drinks just yet, as the evening had barely begun. Though Undyne’s fiery mind was not something to be easily convinced, and so she turned up to the table with drinks for them all, around five seconds after they’d arrived.

“Undyne!” Papyrus exclaimed, looking at his drink with suspicion, “Why does my drink look like it is riddled with alcohol?”

Undyne frowned at him. “Because it is... Is that bad? It’s not like you’re driving back.”

“Yes it’s bad! And this isn’t about driving- It’s because it’s not even dark out yet! I can’t go around drinking in the daytime like some sort of skeleton-shaped-drunkard!” Papyrus complained, “I only drink in the dark when it’s socially acceptable and safe from ridicule.”

“Who’s going to ridicule you? We’re in a bar.” Undyne asked, pushing the glass towards him, “Tell you what, next drink- I’ll buy you soda. Alright?”

Papyrus thought about it, looking at his drink angrily. “That will be acceptable.”

“Good.”

“Actually, P-Papyrus has a point, Undyne. It _is_ a little early to be drinking...” Alphys piped up, taking a sip from her glass.

“You’re all weenies,” Undyne teased, making a mental note to buy _two_ sodas next time. 

Undyne looked around the bar with earnest intrigue. It wasn’t anywhere particularly special, just some human place she’d heard of earlier, being told the atmosphere was nice and welcoming. These were factors that were hard to find in most areas upon the surface, there always seemed to be at least one human who had a problem with her. She knew that was just because she looked a little more frightening than some of her fellow monsters, and that the more similar in appearance to the humans you were, the more likely they were to treat you like a person. She knew that Mettaton must have a very easy time upon the surface because of how he looked. She wondered idly how he would have fared if he was still that obnoxious rectangle. But judging by how he’d convinced half the underground to fall in love with his rectangular form, she was sure there were enough freaky humans up here that would still be into him. That guy always got his way. 

As she scanned the bar, her eyes locked with someone else across the room who was blatantly scowling at them. When they noticed Undyne looking, they quickly broke their gaze and pretended they weren’t looking at all. If Undyne wasn’t with friends at that point, she’d have gone over there and said something, but she didn’t want to upset Papyrus. At least she could hope they were too scared of how she looked to try and start something with her.

When she looked back to her own table, she noticed Alphys had her eyes trained on her phone and Papyrus was wringing his hands nervously. She eyed him with concern.

“Hey, Paps, what’s wrong? If it’s that weirdo over there-”

“What? No- I’m fine,” Papyrus said, stopping his anxious fidgeting by placing both hands flat on the table.

Undyne knew him too well to take that answer seriously. “You’re not nervous about seeing Mettaton, are you? I thought you two were good pals now.”

His eyes widened with shock. How did they know about them hanging out? He hadn’t told anyone, had he? “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Alphys chuckled, putting her phone down for a second to chime in, “W-well you certainly seemed close to him w-when you danced with him at the party. And when you gave him a lift home and disappeared the other day...”

Papyrus sighed with relief. _That’s_ what they’re talking about. He was glad they hadn’t been following him and spying on his and Mettaton’s alone time. He didn’t _want_ them to know about that. They didn’t have to know! It was between him and his friend Mettaton and he very much liked to keep it that way. Perhaps this was because people might start getting suspicious, or maybe it was simply that Papyrus had something with Mettaton that was just between the two of them. It made their relationship feel more special even though they were only friends.

“We do talk sometimes, too,” Papyrus admitted, “I guess I’m just nervous about him hanging around you, Undyne.”

She chuckled, faking shock with widened eyes. “Look, would I really treat him that badly if I was the one who suggested he come out with us? I’m trying to be the good guy here!”

“Hmm... If you say so, Undyne!” Papyrus shrugged, “I’ll be keeping a metaphorical eye on you, though! Not a real eye, of course, that would be horrific!”

And so he did just that, making an internal vow to make sure she was on her best behaviour. Mettaton did no wrong in Papyrus’ eyes, he didn’t deserve to be picked on by Undyne just because she had some sort of personality clash with him. 

It didn’t take Mettaton long to appear through the door of the bar, scanning the room quickly for his friends once he stepped inside. Papyrus saw him straight away, waving to alert him of their whereabouts, a big friendly smile on his face. That was until Danny stepped through the door behind him. Papyrus’ smile drained from his features and his hand stopped still, frozen in place. He hadn’t been expecting Danny to be here, and he couldn’t help but feel his stomach churn as they approached, quickly lowering his hand when he realised it was still in the air. This meant that Papyrus was _still_ the only member of the group who wasn’t in a relationship, the problem Undyne had attempted to divert by inviting Mettaton in the first place. 

“Hello, darlings,” Mettaton greeted when he reached their table.

“Hey, I’m Danny,” the fiancé introduced, shaking each of their hands in turn, all of them looking a little shocked at him being here.

Alphys knew all about Danny’s antics from Mettaton’s complaining, and so Undyne knew all of this too by Alphys blabbing to her. Papyrus’ only problem was that he was in love with Danny’s boyfriend. That wasn’t really something you could bring up in easy conversation.

“I-it’s nice to see you again,” Alphys lied, the words catching in her throat slightly. She just hoped he wasn’t about to start asking her about how much money she earned again.

“You too,” Danny replied, looking at her thoroughly for a moment, as though he was trying to remember when they’d met before. 

Mettaton and Danny sat down at the table across from each other. Mettaton sat beside Papyrus smiling at him happily, wondering why he looked so conflicted. 

“You guys already have drinks,” Danny pointed out, “I’ll go buy some too- Mettaton, what do you want?”

Mettaton bit his lip in thought. “Anything expensive,” He said playfully.

“Of course,” Danny nodded, taking his wallet out and making his way to the bar.

Mettaton smiled as he looked around at his friends, playing with the diamond around his neck absent-mindedly. They smiled back cautiously, knowing that they had no right to tell Mettaton that his boyfriend wasn’t invited. They weren’t entirely sure why they’d assumed he _wouldn’t_ bring his boyfriend anyway. It was as though their relationship was so unseen off camera, it was easy to forget it existed. They kept to themselves in their own home and when they went out, Mettaton hung out with his friends and Danny with his. It was rare they were actually seen together.

“That’s a beautiful necklace,” Papyrus told him when Danny had left, “Is it new?”

Mettaton, who had hoped someone would bring it up, nodded eagerly, “Yes, darling, Danny gave it to me.”

“It l-looks expensive,” Alphys said, as she took a closer look.

Mettaton chuckled. “I’d expect it is! I’d be rather disappointed if it wasn’t.”

Undyne wasn’t really paying attention to their chatter, her concentration had been drawn back to the miserable-looking human from earlier, though their appearance was much less unsavoury now. In fact, they even seemed to be happy as they looked over to their table, staring at Mettaton with delight. _Double standards_ , Undyne muttered to herself, shaking her head. 

“Money isn’t that important!” Papyrus chimed, breaking Undyne from her anger-staring. “If price really equalled quality, then I wouldn’t have such a stellar wardrobe!” He looked at Mettaton with conviction, “I make all my own clothes by taking cheap clothes and improving them!”

“Yeah! You tell him, Paps!” Undyne cheered, “Money is for posh losers!”

Mettaton snickered, shaking his head. Just then, Danny returned with two drinks in his hand, a fruity wine for Mettaton and a pint of something dark for himself.

“We’re talking about money?” He asked as he sat down, intrigued.

“Papyrus was just complimenting my necklace,” Mettaton told him, trying to take the conversation away from money. He didn’t want him to start a conversation he knew only the two of them would be interested in.

Danny smiled as he looked at the necklace hung delicately around Mettaton’s neck, gleaming in the dim light. “Only the best for my fiancé.” And then he gave him a charming smirk. “You know, it was probably the most pricey piece in the whole jewellers.”

Mettaton sighed, knowing they’d end up going back to this conversation eventually. It was all Danny knew to talk about.

“Are you okay, Mettaton?” Danny asked.

“Perfectly fine, darling. I just think we should perhaps change the subject-”

“You can’t buy love anyway,” Undyne butted in before Mettaton could diffuse the situation. “Not everyone can be won over by shiny things like Mettaton,” She teased, a wry smile curling the side of her mouth.

“No, I suppose not, but when you have enough money to treat someone- why not?” Danny asked.

“I’m not saying you can’t,” Undyne retorted, “Just that there should be more to a gift other than price. A personal touch! Something to show you care.”

Papyrus swatted her arm. “Undyne, stop arguing, we’re here to have a nice night!” He warned her.

Danny just shook his head. “No no, it’s fine- we’re just talking.” He turned to Undyne curiously. “So what would you suggest I buy my fiancé? You seem like such an expert on the subject.”

 _Hypocrite_ , Mettaton thought to himself, _he always complains when I’m sarcastic to his friends_.

“Dude, I’m not saying I’m an expert in anything. I just know that not everything in life can be as simple as spending money and getting what you want. Maybe Mettaton is happy with this expensive stuff but some people prefer it when their partner actually does things to show that they love them- Like, I don’t know, spontaneous flowers?”

Alarm bells were ringing inside Mettaton’s head. Not only because he didn’t know how to stop them from bickering, but also because Undyne’s words were ringing some kind of truths inside Mettaton. He wouldn’t admit it. Danny had gone out of his way to buy him something nice, he couldn’t just start trash-talking it and side with _Undyne_ of all people.

“I always thought home-made jewellery was rather romantic,” Papyrus muttered, shrugging. “Not to say your gift isn’t wonderful! It is! I just always liked the idea of giving someone a piece of jewellery that you’d put love into so they could wear it with pride.”

Mettaton had never quite thought about it that way before. He’d never even considered the idea of Danny doing something like that for him, but he could hardly blame him, he’d never thought about it either. Maybe they were as bad as each other when it came to relying on money to do all the hard-work for them.

“Well, while you’re making friendship bracelets for your schoolboy crushes, I’ll be buying diamonds for my man,” Danny said smugly.

Mettaton could have dragged him away from the table and started an argument of his own for that comment, but he kept his cool as he looked to the discouraged skeleton to his side.

“Don’t listen to him,” He murmured in an attempt to cheer him up, “He’s just jealous because he didn’t think of that first.”

Danny grunted but didn’t say anything else, taking a long sip from his drink.

“Now! How about we talk about something else like I’d suggested earlier, hmm?” Mettaton offered, resisting the temptation to just throw the entire contents of his glass down his neck in one gulp. 

He looked at Alphys who’d been silent throughout the whole pseudo-argument. “How did that meeting go the other day? You said you were really nervous about it...”

“O-oh!” Alphys gasped, realising that she was being pulled into this daunting conversation, “It went okay, I might be getting a promotion soon, a-actually.”

“That’s marvellous!” Mettaton enthused, “I knew you would, darling.”

“Congratulations Undyne!” Danny added, looking around the table curiously when everyone stared back at him confused. 

“That’s Alphys,” Mettaton told him, trying not to sound harsh, “Undyne is next to her, sweetheart.”

Danny’s eyes widened, “Oh! Well, congratulations Alphys, then.”

“Th-thank you,” She said, knowing how simple it was to mix up someone’s name and didn’t hold it against him.

“Let me get this right,” Danny carried on, looking at Undyne and Alphys, “You’re Alphys,” He pointed at the lizard by him, who nodded in return. Then he pointed at the woman next to her. “You’re Undyne.”

“Yeah!” She replied.

He looked at Papyrus. “And, of course, you’re Papyrus,” He said, making the skeleton feel slightly uncomfortable.

 _Why did he say it like that?_ He wondered, _what was all this ‘of course’ business? Had they even spoken before? Did Mettaton talk about him a lot? If so- why did he sound so bitter?_ The whole thing made Papyrus feel like he was in the wrong somehow. Maybe he was just overthinking things.

“Yes! I’m Papyrus,” He said cheerfully, trying to mask the worry in his voice.

Danny smiled, as though he’d just showed them he could recite pi to a hundred digits. In reality, all he’d remembered was the names of three of Mettaton’s closest friends. Or whatever Undyne was right now. Mettaton complained about her all the time, surely Danny should know who she was.

“And Undyne and Papyrus are dating, right?” Danny asked, and Mettaton was almost sure he had to be winding him up now. There was no way he couldn’t know this.

“No,” Mettaton said, shaking his head, “Undyne and Alphys are dating. Papyrus is single.”

Danny looked at Papyrus sternly for a second before turning back to Mettaton. “I didn’t know that.”

“Well now you do!” Mettaton told him, a little exasperated. How was he managing to turn everything they spoke about into a dispute? He never did this with his own friends. “And I doubt Papyrus would date Undyne anyway, they’re both gay.”

Papyrus frowned. “How do you know that?! I never told you I was gay.”

“Oh... I suppose you didn’t. I guess I just made assumptions after you said you named your car ‘Carlito’, Pappy,” He admitted, his voice trailing off when he realised what he just said. He’d called him by the nickname Papyrus had turned his nose up to so long ago, back when they were chatting in Frisk’s office. 

It was only Papyrus who saw the significance of it. He’d asked him not to use that pet name because it felt too sweet and intimate. And here he was, calling it him in front of his boyfriend.

Danny didn’t seem to take any notice, however, chuckling at Papyrus’ choice of car name. Mettaton took a deep breath, wanting nothing more than to move the conversation on. So far it seemed that Danny was going to try and create a debate out of everything that was brought up, and though Mettaton knew that he couldn’t really blame him for screwing his friend’s names and relationships up, he still didn’t fully understand it. Did he not listen to anything Mettaton told him? He quite often spoke about how Undyne and Alphys were together, how Undyne was big and scary looking, how Alphys was his best friend and how she was small and sweet. It slightly bothered him to realise that all the stories he’d had told him must have gone in one ear and right out the other. 

They kept chatting for around three more rounds of drinks, certain ‘sensible’ members of the gang alternating between soda and alcohol like ‘respectable people’. Mettaton couldn’t possibly contemplate drinking something non-alcoholic in this situation. The sooner the alcohol got to him, the easier dealing with his fiancé’s verbal diarrhoea would be. 

The only problem with that was, with every round of drinks that came in, the more Danny also lost his inhibitions. Which was something he definitely didn’t need that night. 

“You know-” He began, slurring slightly, “If I wasn’t so trusting of my boyfriend, I’d be a little concerned that he was hanging out with a single gay guy so often.”

Mettaton felt his cheeks burn, not liking where this was going in the slightest.

There was another who had the same feeling, Undyne. “Hey, Papyrus isn’t like that,” She argued, “You have no need to be concerned.”

“Papyrus is a friend,” Mettaton agreed. “Don’t try and tell me I can’t have friends, Danny.”

“Hey hey hey, I’m not saying that,” Danny said, waving his hands to stop their accusations, “You can have whatever friends you want- but how can I know that’s how Papyrus sees you?”

“Danny, _stop it_ ,” Mettaton hissed, very close to dragging him away from the table.

“I don’t know why you’re getting so defensive! I’m not accusing you of anything,” He told Mettaton, “But I’m a good judge of character, and by the way that skeleton has been looking at you all night...” He looked at Papyrus through narrowed eyes, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he had feelings for you. He’s probably been waiting to make his move for weeks.”

“No I-” Papyrus started, his eyes wide, “That’s not true.” _Not the last part anyway._

That was the last straw, Mettaton stood up and pulled Danny by the arm, taking him outside.

When they got onto the street, he looked at him disbelievingly. “What the fuck was that?”

“Mettaton! What are you getting so wound up about? I was just pointing out what I saw. It should be me who’s angry!” He countered, “That guy has been giving you lovey-dovey looks all night.”

“Just because you don’t have friends who you’re close with! You can’t cope when I have someone who cares about me, because you’re jealous you don’t have that. Admit it, Danny, you’re jealous because I have closer friends than you,” He yelled, not caring about the people beginning to stare.

“That’s got nothing to do with it,” Danny sputtered, “I don’t give a crap about your friends. All I care about is that I can’t express my opinion around them without you looking like I just tried to shoot one of them.”

Mettaton’s chest heaved. “Danny, you can have all the opinions in the world. Just don’t talk to my friends like an asshole.”

“That sounds familiar.”

They looked at each other, unspeaking, Mettaton slowly beginning to piece together what all this had been about. 

“Did you do this to punish me?” Mettaton asked, “Because of how I spoke to your friends that time?”

Danny shook his head. “Of course I didn’t! What do you take me for? I wouldn’t purposefully humiliate you like that. But you have to admit, now you know how I feel when you talk down to my friends.”

Mettaton wasn’t listening, anger was making Danny’s excuses fall on deaf ears. 

“We should go home,” Mettaton told him, “There’s no way we’re going to have a nice night after that.”

“Whatever you want, Mettaton,” He shrugged, making to go back into the bar.

“No, you wait here,” Mettaton said, pushing him back, “I’ll pick up your coat.”

The last thing he wanted was for Danny to have to talk to his friends any more than he needed to.

When he returned to the table, he realised Papyrus wasn’t there, he questioned the other two on the matter as he gathered their coats.

“He’s in the bathroom,” Undyne told him, a dissatisfied look upon her face. She obviously blamed Mettaton for the events of the night. If he hadn’t brought his boyfriend along, none of this would have happened. “He seemed pretty upset.”

Mettaton sighed heavily. “God, I feel so bad. I’m going to go chat with him.”

Undyne was about to dispute this but Alphys nudged her, stopping her complaints before they came. Alphys hadn’t involved herself in a lot of the conversation of the night, but that almost helped her see this from everyone’s point of view. She didn’t quite know who was in the wrong, but she knew that there was no reason Mettaton couldn’t go and smooth things out with Papyrus. As far as Alphys was concerned, the only thing Mettaton had done was invite his obnoxious boyfriend out. He really couldn’t be blamed for that.

Mettaton opened the bathroom door hesitantly, not sure what to expect on the other side. He immediately saw Papyrus looking into the mirror at himself, as though he was trying to get his thoughts together by looking intently at his own head. Mettaton walked towards him.

“Hey, Papyrus... I hope you didn’t take his words too seriously- he was drunk and, well, he tends to get like this when he’s drunk.” He explained, patting him on the shoulder.

Papyrus exhaled slowly. “It’s okay, Mettaton, really. I think I’m just going to go home and spend some time by myself.”

“Oh no! You don’t have to do that, Danny and I are leaving now. You should enjoy the night with your friends,” Mettaton encouraged, “I don’t want to be the reason your night got spoiled.”

“Okay... If you insist!” Papyrus said, beaming falsely at him, “You have no need to worry, I know Danny didn’t mean to be rude.”

Mettaton wasn’t sure about that. What Danny meant was still unclear to him. But he’d let Papyrus believe it was just the alcohol talking for now. Anything to spare his feelings.

“I hope you enjoy the rest of your night,” Mettaton wished as he walked back out the bathroom.

“You too,” Papyrus chirped, waving gently.

It was an awkward cab-trip home. Danny kept attempting to start conversations, to which Mettaton gave uninterested, one-word replies until Danny stopped trying. They just looked out the cab windows with miserable expressions, planning on just going to bed when they got home. Mettaton couldn’t believe how Danny had acted tonight, even by Danny’s standards, this was unheard of. At least he knew not to mix Danny with his friends in the future.

As they stepped through the door of the house, Mettaton sent a text to Alphys, asking whether the rest of her night had gone well. It took a few minutes for her to reply, Mettaton was just about to change into his pyjamas when she texted back.

“Hey MTT! We actually didn’t stay at the bar much longer. Papyrus seemed too distressed so we went home together. Undyne is pretty angry, too, so maybe you should stay out of her way for a while. I’m sorry it turned out like this, Mettaton. It isn’t your fault.”

Mettaton closed his eyes grievously when he read this. To hear that he’d made Papyrus ‘distressed’ made his soul plummet. Nobody enjoyed being accused of trying to take someone else’s man. Especially not someone who’s morals were as high as Papyrus’.

It was then that Mettaton decided he couldn’t sleep without making this right. He put his jacket back on, took off his necklace and told Danny he was just going downstairs to watch television for a while. Then he slipped out the front door and headed straight to Papyrus’ house on foot.

~~~

Over in the skeleton household, Papyrus had returned a little while ago, trying to avoid his brother’s concerned gaze.

“you okay, bro?” he asked when he saw Papyrus’ expression.

“I’m perfectly fine!” He ensured, “I’m just going to go to bed.”

That in itself was enough to worry Sans. Papyrus never just wanted to go to sleep. Something was obviously wrong but he didn’t push anything. If his brother wanted to talk about it, he knew he was always there for him. 

Papyrus slumped into his bedroom, his spirits collapsed beyond repair for that night. He slipped his night clothes on quickly and wrapped himself up in his sheets. But it seemed the thoughts in his head stopped him from drifting into that lovely sleep that promised to take him away from all his concerns.

It wasn’t really that Danny had been accusing him of anything. It was because Danny had been _right_. Maybe Papyrus was just being a terrible friend. Maybe he was being selfish! He shouldn’t hang out with Mettaton when he cared for him so dearly. It wasn’t fair on Danny. And, more importantly, it wasn’t fair on Mettaton. Who knows, that night could have gone much more nicely if Papyrus and his feelings hadn’t have been there to make everything complicated. These were the thoughts that ran through Papyrus’ mind as he lay in bed. 

Somewhere in the midst of his fretting, that annoying dog that always bothered him at the most inopportune moments jumped up onto his bed.

“What are you doing here?!” Papyrus complained, making to push it off the bed, but then he stopped and sighed. He pulled the dog into his arms and lay back down, cuddling it to his chest. Somehow, this stupid dog was a slight comfort to him, something warm and fluffy, without the ability to judge or accuse him of things. 

Just as Papyrus was about to drift off, a frown on his usually pleasant features, there was a knock on his door. He almost thought his mind had made it up, but then he heard it again louder.

“Sans, I’m not in the mood to talk,” Papyrus said, pulling the covers over himself further.

“It’s not Sans,” spoke a warm, familiar voice, “It’s Mettaton. Sans let me in... I hope you don’t mind.”

Papyrus quickly jumped up, leaving the dog in his place on the bed. He quickly straightened out his PJs and opened the door, wondering why Mettaton was here, at his bedroom door, at nearly eleven in the evening. Maybe he _had_ fallen asleep after all.

“Hey Papyrus,” Mettaton said quietly, his voice full of remorse, “Can I come in?”

Papyrus nodded, not knowing what to think of the situation. Mettaton had nothing to be sorry about. He’d done nothing wrong.

He stood aside to let Mettaton in and closed the door behind him. Mettaton’s eyes looked at the dog in Papyrus’ bed with momentary amusement before his face went stern again.

“I came to apologise for Danny’s behaviour tonight. He had no right to talk to you like that.” He said softly, sitting on the edge of Papyrus’ bed.

Papyrus went to sit by him. “It’s fine, Mettaton. It’s not your fault- or even his fault! I only have myself to blame, really.”

“No- that’s not true... Why do you think that?” Mettaton asked, his eyes looking at Papyrus’ features searchingly.

Papyrus abruptly realised what he’d just let slip, the emotional tiredness had really been taking a toll on him, it seemed.

After a few seconds, Papyrus took a deep breath, knowing he couldn’t possibly keep this all to himself any longer. Maybe it was the alcohol making him do this, but he knew he’d feel better when he got this off his chest. Lying was never his favourite past-time.

“Because... He wasn’t wrong.” Papyrus couldn’t look at Mettaton as he opened up to him. “I tried my hardest to see you as a friend! To treat you like I would Undyne or Alphys, but I can’t! It’s impossible! It’s like all the friendly emotions have been usurped by these troublesome romantic feelings that I keep having!” He stood up, not able to keep his legs at rest as he poured his soul out. “You mean a lot to me, Mettaton,” He said as he paced, “A whole lot! I’ve never felt like this before. I’ve tried to force these emotions for people in the past, and it didn’t work. But with you, it’s involuntary.” He looked at Mettaton for the first time since he’d began speaking. Mettaton looked back at him, his expression unreadable. “Every time we’re together, I feel so full of euphoria, it’s all I can think about for the days to come. All I find myself doing lately is daydreaming about spending more time with you. If I could use some emotion-taker-awayer, I’d use it to take away all these loving feelings. But I don’t have that, and I don’t know what to do... Danny was right. He probably should be concerned, if you weren’t so loyal.”

These words unravelled and travelled slowly from Papyrus to Mettaton, surrounding him, not quite taking them in. Mettaton would never have guessed. He’d never have thought Danny actually knew more about Papyrus than he did. He closed his eyes slowly, taking a deep shuddering breath. With every passing second that Mettaton stayed silent, Papyrus’ regretted his words more and more. 

“I hope you can forgive me, Mettaton,” He pleaded, “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Mettaton didn’t open his eyes, he just rubbed his temples slowly, shaking his head. 

At long last he looked up at him, a pained expression making his usually fair features look tragic. 

His eyes were full of doubt but all of a sudden he spoke, and his voice was clear, “I know exactly how you feel, Papyrus.” When Papyrus didn’t say anything, just looked at him with confusion, he carried on, “Darling, I don’t know how long I’ve been fooling myself but I care for you too. Quite dearly in fact. I don’t want to sit here and tell you I don’t care about Danny but, sometimes I really do feel like there’s something missing. And then you come along and make everything alright again.”

Somewhere in the middle of Mettaton’s confession, Papyrus had sat down next to him again, listening to him patiently. Not judging, not expecting anything from him. Just allowing him to express his emotions as he just did. 

Mettaton turned to him, looking at him gently. “Papyrus... You make me happy. _More_ than happy. When we hang out, even if we’re just sat around chatting, you always find a way to make me laugh until the tears come. You’re funny and sweet, and I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with a heart as soft as yours. And the mere thought that you’d care about me in that way honestly makes me feel so warm inside, sweetheart. It’s like when you hug me and I feel so content, like nothing in the world could possibly go wrong. And I know that sounds sappy, but I just can’t believe it’s taken me so long to realise what these feelings meant.” He was whispering by the end, his voice so low Papyrus had to lean in to hear him. He shook his head. “And I still don’t know. It’s all so complicated and I keep trying to remind myself that I’m engaged and yet all I can think about is how close you are to me right now and that I’d want nothing more than to kiss you.”

Papyrus leant back again, but only slightly, so he could see Mettaton clearly. His eyes were soft but with a steely look of determination, like he’d never been so sure and unsure of something in his life. Before Papyrus knew what he was doing, he leant back in, placing one hand on Mettaton’s jaw. Mettaton leant in too, closing his eyes once again.

Their faces met, Mettaton’s lips brushing against Papyrus’ teeth lightly, barely touching. They both took a quick inhale of breath as they parted again, as though the light touch shocked them both, sending shivers down their spines. Then, like he'd been taken over by his own lustful mind, Mettaton scooted closer, taking Papyrus’ head in his hands to pull him towards him, kissing him once more, tenderly this time. Just as he’d been hoping, Papyrus’ kisses were much like his hugs. They were affectionate and caring, as though all of the intense emotions he had for him poured from his soul and into Mettaton, who found himself lacking all coherent thoughts. 

Papyrus brushed his fingers through Mettaton’s hair lovingly, not allowing himself to think about how terrible he was being. Only allowing himself to think about how good he felt. And how good Mettaton felt, pressing his lips firmly against his teeth, reminding him that he was actually there, and that this was actually happening. 

Only a few seconds had passed, but it felt like an eternity to them. Mettaton was the first to pull away, escaping Papyrus’ intimate hold with undeniable reluctance. 

“I’m so sorry,” Mettaton whispered, standing up when his senses returned to him.

“Mettaton...” that was all Papyrus could say as he watched him make his way to the door.

“I’m _so_ sorry,” he repeated before he left, gone before Papyrus could even speak.

When Papyrus was left alone in his room with only a dog for company, he barely knew what to think. Every thought was too complex, all of them leading to places he didn’t want to think about. Right now, he really was exhausted, and so he collapsed into his bed once again, allowing himself to think of the one thing that brought him any comfort.

That had been his first kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welly well well, maybe Danny had a right to be angry after all! Now, I'm not saying that Mettaton is a saint- far from it! He didn't have to go around smooching cute skeletons, but here we are. Smooching cute skeletons. And plus, it was Papyrus who leant in first! Maybe no one is a saint, really.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this longer chapter! They finally kissed! And you know what that means? More relationship stuff to develop! But I'm not saying it will be easy. Everything is more complex than ever now. 
> 
> If only Mettaton had never invited Danny to the bar. (Though I find it amusing that it's slightly Danny's fault that they ended up kissing).
> 
> (The title is from a Queens of The Stone Age song- 'I appear missing'- it was such a cool line, I had to steal it.)


	7. Love, Loss and Loneliness.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No kiss comes without a price, and it seems kisses from engaged celebrities are the most expensive. Nobody feels good about this, but can it really be just ignored and left unspoken about? 
> 
> No matter how much they try, maybe keeping silent about this is just too much. Especially when old memories start seeping in.

_Oh God, how could I be so stupid?_

Mettaton lay with his eyes wide. Since getting back home, he hadn’t got a wink of sleep, his mind was too alive and buzzing with thought. He wanted to shut it all out. To go on like he usually did, pretending like nothing mattered as long as he got what he wanted. But this was too complicated. Too hazy. Too painful to even begin comprehending. 

He didn’t even _know_ what he wanted.

Last night felt like some strange dream. He’d admitted to feelings he barely knew he had and kissed someone who wasn’t his boyfriend. He wished he could tell himself that it didn’t mean anything. That he could just carry on being with Danny and not care about that night. But it wasn’t that simple. Living with Danny was difficult enough, now all these added feelings just made him feel nauseous. 

But there was one thing he was sure of; he couldn’t change anything right now. He was so close to what he wanted. He was marrying the one man who could give him everything and anything. He felt terrible for Papyrus. Beyond terrible. But he didn’t have much choice. 

He just felt so very stupid.

“Mettaton? Are you awake?” Danny’s groggy voice asked from the other side of the bed. “What time is it?”

Mettaton blinked quickly, breaking away from the internal monologue he was having to look at the clock on his bedside table.

“Six am.”

Danny groaned. “So early.” He slid closer to Mettaton in the bed and looked at him. “You don’t look so good, Mettaton.”

“Thanks,” Mettaton grumbled, regretting his sarcastic tone as soon as it left his lips.

Danny winced slightly but he didn’t say anything. If anything, he only looked sympathetic.

“About last night-” Danny began before Mettaton cut him off.

“Danny, it’s okay.”

“No, no it’s not.” He shook his head. “I should have never spoken to your friends like that, especially that skeleton guy. I... guess I was a little jealous?”

Mettaton’s eyes turned soft. “Jealous? About what?”

Danny shrugged. “I don’t know, he just seemed to make you laugh a lot. And you two got along so well. It certainly seemed like he had feelings for you but... if he says he doesn’t then… I’ll take his word for it.”

“Mm-hmm,” Mettaton confirmed, barely able to voice his agreement. Danny certainly was observant, he knew more about Papyrus’ feelings than Mettaton did, just by speaking to him once. 

The guilt of what Mettaton did began eating at him and it showed in his features. Danny supposed he was still upset with him.

“I’m sorry, Mettaton,” he said, stroking his hair gently. “If you want, I can ring Papyrus and apologise.”

Every fibre in Mettaton’s body seemed to lurch at this idea. He can’t talk to Papyrus. He can _never_ encounter him again. He wasn’t entirely sure what would happen but he knew that it couldn’t be a good idea. 

He had to get himself together. If he was going to pretend like he was completely innocent, he’d have to bring along his best acting skills.

Taking a deep breath, Mettaton spoke, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Danny. Papyrus seemed pretty upset last night so he probably doesn’t want to see you. But he’s also a very forgiving person so... maybe you should just leave him to me. Anyway, Undyne’s a very protective friend of his, she’d probably kick your ass if she heard you’d been anywhere near Papyrus.” Mettaton nodded at his own words. “Even on the phone. It’s best not to risk it,” he added for good measure.

Danny stared at him blankly for a second and Mettaton worried that he’d seen right through his lies, but then he just smiled and nodded.

“Alright, Mettaton. Whatever you think is best... I’m glad, actually. Apologising isn’t exactly my best skill.”

With a soft, almost fragile smile, Mettaton smoothed his thumb across Danny’s cheek, stroking the spiky stubble that had started growing there. “It’s not mine either.”

~~~

Keeping busy was the way to go! A busy lifestyle meant a busy mind! That was Papyrus’ key to life. After all, who wanted an empty mind? That’s when you started to think about things! And right now, the last thing he wanted was to think about things. 

Sure, he’d kissed a soon-to-be-married celebrity. Sure, he’d enjoyed it very, very much. And sure, his lips were all he could think about each time he let his mind wonder. 

But all he had to do to counter that was to not let his mind wonder! That was it! He had plenty of things to do, anyway. First of all, the laundry.

He leapt up the stairs with a spring in his step, going straight to Sans’ room. 

With a chirpy knock on the door, he called in, “Sans! Pass me your dirty laundry. It’s time to turn your dirty clothes into clean, lovely smelling, garments of happiness.”

After a few seconds, Sans opened the door, looking up at his brother with confusion. “i already gave you my laundry an hour ago.”

Papyrus looked momentarily taken aback. He had? How did he forget that? 

“I-I just meant- give me the clothes you’ve worn since then! Who knows? Maybe you go through clothes as quickly as you do sugary snacks.”

“sorry to disappoint but i am wearing the exact same clothes as i was a moment ago. so... nothing to wash,” Sans said, shrugging. “you okay, bro? you look kinda... off.”

Papyrus shook his head. “I’ve never been less ‘off’! In fact, today I am full of energy and ready to take on the world!”

Sans had known his brother long enough to know when he was hiding something. 

“you sure? gimme your head,” Sans said, gesturing for Papyrus to bend over so he could feel the temperature of his forehead. 

Papyrus did so, letting Sans hold his hand to his head. When he didn’t feel any hotter than usual, Sans just looked at him concerned.

“’s there anything you wanna talk about? is this somethin’ to do with mettaton turning up late last night?” he asked as Papyrus straightened up again.

“Oh! No, I’m fine, Sans, stop fussing over me! Mettaton has absolutely nothing to do with anything that is happening,” Papyrus ensured, looking like he’d quite like to flee in the other direction at any given moment. 

“well... alright. you know i’m here to talk, right?” 

“Of course!”

“and whatever it is you’re keeping from me, i won’t judge when you reveal it to me, alright?”

Papyrus frowned at him. “I’m not keeping anything from you!”

“whatever you say, bro. just keep it in mind,” he said, “i don’t wanna pry on your personal life. what you do is up to you but... i’m always here to help.” Sans stuffed his hands into his pockets. Deep down, he knew that Papyrus wouldn’t give up that easily. He was incredibly stubborn and had an exceptional skill in pretending, though the only person he always struggled to convince was his brother.

Sans had known him too long, too well. He knew all the signs. When Papyrus was avoiding something, he turned aloof. He avoided the subject completely. He spoke more, often about meaningless things to fill the silence. Sans always knew he was only talking to keep his mind occupied. Most of the time, Sans just left him to it. Papyrus was good at keeping from revealing his problem, for a while. 

But Papyrus had one major flaw.

He hated being dishonest. Lying to his brother only ever lasted so long, and then he’d come to him with the truth in the middle of the night when he couldn’t sleep and Sans would console all his worries away.

Sans hoped this was no different from all those times. That he’d come along to him by the end of the day with the truth and a hug. 

Little did Sans know, Papyrus intended no such thing. 

As he returned to his room, no laundry in his hands and no more tasks to keep him occupied, he couldn’t help but let the thoughts pour in. It was almost painful. It was something he desperately wanted to share with someone. But he couldn’t. Not this time. 

This wasn’t only his secret, it was Mettaton’s, and he couldn’t afford to ruin Mettaton’s life like that. He refused to. He’d kept his feelings for Mettaton a secret all this time, he could keep the kiss to himself too. Maybe, by some miracle, he could even begin to enjoy the memory. It was something only he and Mettaton knew about. It was almost exciting!

Now he just felt bad for even thinking about it.

He sat down on his bed, trying to put his thoughts into a coherent order. He was an intelligent skeleton! Surely he could figure something out. 

The first thing he knew was that he should avoid Mettaton. For a while, at least. He felt awful for what happened, and took one-hundred percent of the blame. He assumed he’d seduced him with his dimly-lit bedroom love-confession and that had caused the kiss. Plus, he’d been the one who leant in. That was the one thing that kept repeating over and over again in his head.

He’d kissed Mettaton. He’d made Mettaton cheat on his fiancé. He could have ruined their entire relationship and it was all his fault.

Papyrus didn’t know why he’d done it. In that moment, he was overwhelmed with emotion, Mettaton’s own confession taking his soul by surprise. When he’d told Mettaton about his feelings, he’d never imagined he’d return them. If he had, he probably wouldn’t have said anything. He wished he hadn’t.

Nobody Papyrus ever loved had returned his feelings in the past. Papyrus didn’t fall for people often, but when he did, he braced himself for disappointment. It was something that came from years and years of experience.

Now that Mettaton, the man of his dreams, said that he had romantic feelings for him, he couldn’t quite believe his luck. 

Whether that was good luck or bad luck, he wasn’t quite sure. 

Whilst Papyrus sat there, he felt himself become susceptible to all the thoughts he’d been holding back. All of a sudden, he was remembering one of the first crushes he ever had. He tried to block the memory out, but, like most memories one would rather forget, it came to him anyway.

~~~

14 years ago: Snowdin Elementary.

“Sans!! Sans! You’re five minutes late!” a young, eight-year-old Papyrus scolded, taking his brother’s hand angrily. 

Sans had been expecting this scolding and already knew his reply. “i’m sorry, bro. i got held up at work. this lady said she wouldn’t leave until i served her- and, i’m not kidding, she had the hugest pile of crap in her shopping cart. and i gotta serve her, you know i don’t wanna get in trouble with the boss.” 

Papyrus huffed, obviously still upset at having to spend more time at school than he had to. Even if it was only five minutes. They began walking down the road to their home. Papyrus always wanted to run off but Sans had a firm grip on his hand, knowing about his brother’s excited legs.

“I liked it better when you didn’t have a job,” he told him, “Now you’re fifteen, it’s so boring. You’re always so busy!”

“yeah, i know,” Sans sighed, squeezing his brother’s hand. He hated having to leave his brother so often, but now he was finally able to provide money, it was better for the both of them. “anyway, what’d you do at school today?” he asked, trying to change the subject. His little brother didn’t have to be bored by money issues.

“I did lots of stuff!” Papyrus enthused. “I painted a knight and a HUGE terrifying dragon that was terrorizing a village! He was breathing fire and causing mayhem, Sans! Mayhem! He had to be stopped by the Great Papyrus!”

Sans chuckled. “i thought it was a knight dealing with this dragon, not papyrus,”

“Papyrus IS a knight in this world! He helps people and everyone loves him,” Papyrus explained jumping up and down. “He’s best friends with the prince and they go on adventures!”

“what kind of adventures?”

“All kinds! Tackling naughty dragons is only one part of the job. They also give money to peasants, put big scary people in the dungeon and complete puzzles in their spare time.” There was a light that shone in Papyrus’ eyes as he spoke about his imaginary world. It was obviously a place in his mind he liked to spend a lot of time and Sans knew the reason behind this.

“this prince got a name?” Sans asked out of sheer curiosity.

“Yes, of course he has a name, Sans! His name’s Elliot!” he told him with pride, a large smile plastered across his face.

Sans gave him a sideways glance. “ain’t that the name of that kid in your class?”

“It is!”

From what Sans had gathered from Papyrus’ stories, Elliot was a bear-like monster, covered in brown fur and had soft green eyes. He excelled in English and Art and was rather popular amongst the other students in the school. He had a blue back-pack and always looked neat and proper. 

…And Papyrus was rather obsessed with him.

He was all he spoke about lately, ‘Elliot did this today’, ‘Elliot said that today’, it was all Sans heard about! And now he’d been included in Papyrus’ fantasy land as well. Sans just wondered whether they actually spoke when they saw each other at school or whether Papyrus just admired him nervously from afar. 

He knew Papyrus didn’t have that many friends at school, if any. It broke his heart to see the other kids leaving him out of things because he was such a nice person! He deserved to be the most popular kid there, but that wasn’t how school worked. Being nice seemed to get you nowhere. At least at this point, it didn’t seem like outright bullying, just avoiding, not that Sans was any happier about this.

All Sans could hope for was that people would change their minds about Papyrus eventually. He deserved all the friends in the world. 

“Elliot painted a flower today!!” Papyrus exclaimed, like it was the most exciting thing in the world, “It was pretty!”

“that’s nice, paps,” Sans said, trying to sound interested.

“He likes flowers.”

“rad.”

“I like flowers, too!”

“i know you do, paps.”

~~~

The following day, Papyrus had a task at hand. He’d decided to finally talk to Elliot. It wasn’t like he was a particularly shy child. Quite the opposite, in fact! But he couldn’t help but feel nervous whenever the idea of talking to _Elliot_ of all people, came to mind. He couldn’t screw it up! He had to be cool and interesting! If he made Elliot think he was boring, he might never want to talk to him again- and that would be the worst thing ever! He just had to keep calm.

Once the class had been released for break, Papyrus decided that now was his chance. Quickly, he nabbed something out of his bag and chased after Elliot who was swiftly leaving the room. He caught up with him in the hallway.

“HI ELLIOT!” Papyrus boomed, his voice rising out of nerves.

Elliot stopped in his tracks and turned around, letting his friends go on ahead.

He raised his brow at the skeleton who had so eagerly wanted his attention but was now awkwardly saying nothing.

After a moment of terrible silence, Papyrus held out his arm, a card in his hand.

“I-I made this for you!” he informed him, waving it around in the hopes that it would make it seem more enticing. 

Elliot took it curiously, looking at the flower Papyrus had scribbled onto the front with bright, crude colours. Papyrus fidgeted with his hands as he watched Elliot open the card, his eyes skimming over the words “you’re cool!” with indifference.

“Thanks,” Elliot mumbled, stuffing the card into his backpack quickly, as though he didn’t want anyone to see him with it. Papyrus tried not to notice. He must have really impressed him- he just put it in his bag to look at later!

Elliot went to chase after his friends, leaving Papyrus in the hallway full of hope. This was the start of an amazing friendship, Papyrus was sure of it.

“Psst, Papyrus,” a voice hissed from behind him. Papyrus turned towards the source of the voice to see two girls watching him. One of them beckoned him over. 

“Hello! What is it?” Papyrus asked. Maybe they wanted to be his friend as well! Today was a good day.

“You like Elliot, don’t you?” The first girl teased with a smug grin that made Papyrus feel weirdly uncomfortable.

Papyrus played with the straps of his backpack anxiously. “I do!”

The girls giggled at their suspicions being true.

“You wanna know a secret, Papyrus?” the second girl asked, leaning in. Before Papyrus could reply, she spoke again. “He likes you too.”

The first girl laughed and then nodded. “He _like_ likes you.”

Papyrus could barely believe his own hearing. This was more than he’d ever hoped for! And to think, he’d put all that effort into making a good first impression and Elliot already liked him! Papyrus questioned just how great he really was. He’d have lots of friends in no time.

“Wowie!” was all he could say, clapping his tiny hands together. Excitement was bubbling through him, he was barely able to keep it inside.

The girls grinned at each other. “Actually, he asked us to ask you out for him,” said the first.

“Yeah! He wants to meet you at Waterfall Park after school,” said the other.

Papyrus was practically jumping on the spot. “He does?!”

They nodded and giggled again before departing, deciding to spend their breaktime elsewhere, leaving Papyrus to spend the time by himself like he was used to.

He couldn’t think of anything else for the rest of the day. He could barely even focus on his classes, which was rare for him as he prided himself on being a very attentive student. But all his mind would let him think about was the events that were to take place later. Elliot liked him! _Like_ liked him, too, that wasn’t something that could just be overlooked. To an eight-year old, hearing this news was close to a marriage proposal and it certainly felt like it to Papyrus.

Now all he had to do was turn up at the park and have a fun time with his cool new friend and everything would be okay. Everything would be more than okay! 

He’d get to know what having friends was like.

Papyrus practically dragged Sans home that evening, telling him all about his meet up. As happy as Sans was to hear about Papyrus making friends, he couldn’t help but feel concerned- he’d never been out with friends before. But Papyrus was so excited, so happy, that Sans couldn’t say no. Waterfall Park wasn’t too far away anyway, Papyrus could come running home whenever he wanted. As long as he was back home in time for dinner, he didn’t see a problem with him playing out. That was something kids did, right?

As soon as they got back to the house, Papyrus ran up the stairs as fast as his little legs could carry him. He wanted to dress to impress, and so he’d wear his coolest clothes. A neon orange top with blue shorts and a green cap (backwards of course) was sure to do the trick. Papyrus couldn’t possibly think up a cooler outfit. This was the epitome of cool. He just hoped Elliot would think the same thing.

What was he thinking? Of course Elliot would think the same thing! He liked him already, didn’t he? All the hard work of winning him over was already done. Now, the fun part. The part he’d always been so interested in when he read books and watched TV. Having friends.

Sans wished him good luck and patted him on the head as he left, telling him to be back in time for food. Papyrus agreed. 

Despite all his excitement, he was still a little nervous. He’d never done this before, and now it was all happening at once. The only thing that got him through was the knowledge that this was going to be fun. It always seemed fun in the movies and books anyway, friends, they always seemed to make things better.

He skipped through the cold of Snowdin, through the blustery snow-storm that led to the opening of Waterfall. As soon as he got through, he shook and rattled his bones, knocking all the snow off. 

From there, he carried on, his boots echoing lightly on the floor of the cavern. The darker atmosphere of Waterfall seemed to dim his mood, but only slightly. It was more solemn here, bringing out more contemplative thoughts in people. Papyrus could feel his anxiousness begin to creep up on him again, but he pushed it back. There was nothing to be worried about, he told himself as he started skipping again, hoping it would bring his mood back up. He was going to have fun today!

He finally arrived at Waterfall Park. Most kids preferred this place to the small ramshackle old park in Snowdin. This one had actual swings that moved and slides that weren’t a safety hazard for all that dared to use them. 

Papyrus didn’t see Elliot there straight away, so he decided to use his time waiting wisely by sitting on a swing and dangling his legs, swinging gently. 

Papyrus thought that this may have been the case. He liked to turn up to places early. And he _had_ changed into his cool clothes pretty quickly. Elliot was probably still getting ready. Papyrus could wait! He still had ages until Sans expected him home. This just gave him more time to think up fun games to play with him.

Ten minutes passed. 

And then twenty. 

Papyrus moved from the swings to the slide, and then back to the swings, eventually retiring to a bench where he sat patiently, watching the entrance to the park avidly. He lit up every time a kid came in through the gate, but his glee was quickly dashed when he saw it wasn’t Elliot. It was never Elliot. If Papyrus wasn’t so caught up in the idea that Elliot liked him, he’d have given up a long time ago. 

But after an hour had passed, he was still sat there, sure that he’d come through that gate at any point and make Papyrus’ wait worth it. He was just late. He had to be. There was no other explanation for it.

He looked around at the other kids on the park, a sting of jealousy piercing his soul. They all had friends. People who they could count on. People who they would play with and talk to and always have to make them feel happy. 

All of a sudden, Papyrus was very aware of how solitary he must seem compared to everyone else in the park. They were all having fun with each other, laughing and joking and playing silly games that Papyrus would very much like to be a part of... and Papyrus was sat on a bench, all on his lonesome. 

As he was looking around, he noticed the two girls from earlier. His hopes raised momentarily. If they were here, then maybe Elliot was too! And if not, maybe they could tell him where he was. 

Just as Papyrus was about to jump off the bench and walk up to them, he saw they were looking back at him. They... seemed to be smiling? Well that was a good sign, wasn’t it? 

Upon further inspection, Papyrus realised they were laughing. And not just at anything. They seemed to be laughing at _him_. Papyrus wasn’t completely naive, he knew when someone was mocking him, he’d seen it before. Suddenly, he felt like approaching them was probably a bad idea. In fact, he could think of a million things he’d rather do. 

He felt a sting in his gut as he picked himself up from the bench and ran out of the park gate, trying to avoid their sneering gazes. It felt like everyone was laughing at him now. Revelling in his stupidity, in his gullibility, and now he didn’t know why he didn’t guess this was the case sooner. He couldn’t stand it. He hated people thinking badly of him. All he wanted was friends but that wasn’t what the other kids wanted of him. He was more fun to mess with. To laugh at. He’d have made a good class clown if he were more popular. But he wasn’t. And so his entertainment value was found primarily in his misfortune.

Kids were cruel.

As Papyrus left the park, he ran for a while, wanting to get away from that place as quickly as he could. After a few minutes, he slowed down, his own feelings making his legs weak. He could feel a wetness on his cheekbones that he blamed on the Waterfall rain, trying to ignore his own emotions. 

He just wanted to get home to Sans. He’d know all the right words to say. He always did. 

~~~

Papyrus threw himself through the door of his house, startling his brother who was watching television. Sans was even more shocked when he saw his brother’s appearance, tears streaming down his face as he launched himself onto him, gripping him in a tight hug.

“hey, hey, hey- what’s wrong, bro? what’s happened?” Sans asked with urgency, stroking his brother’s back comfortingly.

Papyrus was silent except from the gasps that came whenever he ran out of breath from his crying. He had his face buried in Sans’ jacket, trying to hide the fact that he was upset and failing miserably. 

He was distraught. He just didn’t understand. Every time he tried to make friends, it went wrong somehow. Nobody wanted to be his friend and he just didn’t know why. 

“Am I stupid?” Papyrus finally asked, his voice muffled by Sans’ jacket. 

Sans was taken aback. “stupid? of course you’re not stupid. why, who told you that?”

“Nobody.”

“then where’d you hear that from? you’re one of the smartest kids i know, papyrus,” Sans ensured, “you are not stupid.”

Papyrus’ tears finally dried up. He pulled away slightly so he could look up at his older brother. “Then why does nobody like me?”

These words ran through Sans like a knife through his chest. He processed them slowly, and when Papyrus saw nothing but a blank look on his face, struggling for words, he just sank back into him again, more tears on their way.

“if other kids don’t like you... then _they’re_ the stupid ones,” Sans soothed. Comforting wasn’t exactly his strong suit, but he’d try his best for his brother. “you’re the coolest kid i know.”

Papyrus’ chest heaved and he cried achingly like kids do- with a unique ability to draw sympathy from all those around them just by the sound. It surely did the trick with Sans, who was at a loss for what to do. Papyrus didn’t often cry, even when he fell over, he just brushed himself off and carried on- but this seemed to be the cause of years of bottling everything up.

Papyrus had lied to himself for a while about the state of his happiness, and now he’d finally admitted it to himself. He was miserable.

“you’ll make friends eventually,” Sans assured him, “you’ll make _good_ friends that love you... almost as much as i do, i promise.” 

After a moment, Papyrus’ crying ceased and he looked back up at his brother with puffy eyes.

“You mean it?”

“of course! and until you make friends, you have your big bro, alright? you’ll always have me.”

Papyrus snuggled into him one last time silently, but this time it wasn’t to hide his tears, but to just cuddle him. He knew Sans would know what to say. He always did. Despite everything, he could always count on him to be there for him.

The next day, Papyrus made an effort to avoid Elliot at all costs. He knew now that it had all been a big joke; and when he turned up at school that day, spotting Elliot talking to those same girls and laughing, he realised he really didn’t want to find out what they were smiling about. And so, he kept away from him, not only that day, but for the rest of his school life as well. 

It didn’t stop him from trying to make friends, though. Perhaps Elliot was a lost cause but that didn’t mean everyone was! And maybe, in time, even Elliot would come to his senses and see how great he was. But time seemed to play a key part in this, and so Papyrus tried his best to be patient.

Over the years, the kids got less cruel but still tended to avoid him. He was too direct, too loud. He said weird stuff that others found off-putting. Rather than getting to know him and understand how sweet he could be, he was easier to avoid and just not bother with. Papyrus wasn’t bullied but he was terribly lonely never-the-less.

Present Day: The Skeleton Household.

Papyrus played that memory over and over again in his head, unable to push it away. Thoughts of old crushes came to mind, one after the other. When Papyrus loved, he loved hard, but he never seemed to have these feelings for the right people. Never did they love him in return, and each time, their rejection felt all the more painful until he just kept his emotions to himself.

He’d become numb to it. He’d managed to romanticise it, in a way. To always have your love unrequited was almost poetic, and he had taught himself that things would always be this way, and to not worry himself too much about it.

Sure, he’d made friends eventually. He had Undyne, who he loved dearly. Frisk, who he cared about with all his heart. And even Alphys, who’s welfare he never stopped fussing over. But never had he had _romantic_ love. 

He supposed he’d have to wait. Be patient. He’d been patient about friendship and that had come eventually, he’d just have to do the same with love.

And then came along Mettaton.

He’d had a crush on him for years, but it was only when he got to know him that it had developed into love. He was beyond sure that this would also be unrequited. That it would be the same as all the rest. Though, against all odds, Mettaton of all people cared for him in return.

If Mettaton wasn’t already in a relationship, Papyrus would have counted himself lucky. But he was, and now he just felt sick.

Papyrus lay down on his bed and scrubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. 

He didn’t know what to think, or how to feel. Emotions were a blur of nausea. 

He loved Mettaton and now he knew Mettaton felt the same; but what he could do with this information, he wasn’t sure.

Mettaton’s relationship with Danny seemed shaky, sure, but Papyrus couldn’t break them up just because of an assumption. It was probably egotistical of him to think he could break them up, anyway. Even thinking about it made him feel worse.

He’d been the one to kiss Mettaton. He’d been the one making this all confusing. 

He’d have asked Sans for a hug if he didn’t feel too guilty to request one. 

~~~

A week passed and Papyrus’ emotions softened only slightly. He still felt panicked and sick whenever Mettaton came on his television screen, or when he saw his picture in the newspaper. Although, apart from seeing him in the media, he heard nothing of him in real life. 

He almost wished he’d kept his emotions to himself, then they could have just carried on as friends and Mettaton wouldn’t feel the need to avoid him. It broke his heart to think that he may never see him again.

That was until Papyrus checked his phone one day whilst he was working, intending to check the time but being startled by a message instead. After reading the name ‘Mettaton’, he held his breath, terrified to see what the message read. 

“Papyrus, we need to talk. Meet me on the bench at six?”

He reluctantly accepted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, I'm sorry I made tiny Papyrus cry. Doesn't it make you wanna hug him? I was originally gonna make that flashback like, a separate fic, a one-shot, but then I figured I could use it here! Papyrus has never been in this situation where he's loved in return before, and it caught him off-guard. 
> 
> How will they get past this? I suppose we'll find out next chapter!
> 
> (thank you for all your comments, I appreciate each and every one of them).


	8. Fractures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems the world is tipping in a way neither Papyrus nor Mettaton have control of. However, Mettaton likes to believe he has control and Papyrus, well...
> 
> Papyrus is trying his best.

Papyrus was twelve minutes late.

If Mettaton had been meeting up with anyone else in the world, he’d have brushed he fact aside as useless information but this was Papyrus. He was never late. And so he sat on the bench with his ankles crossed, checking his phone repeatedly, just to make sure nothing had come up, rendering Papyrus unable to come.

Somehow he didn’t know what was worse. 

He’d invited Papyrus to the park upon their regular bench, a place that they both associated with jovial conversations and light-hearted laughs. Now Mettaton only felt sick as he recalled these times.

At least it was a nice day. Many families were out, enjoying the warm weather by basking in the sun’s glow as if just absorbing it would be enough to keep their minds at ease. Mettaton wished he could say the same for himself, the glare of the sun’s relentless beams gleamed off of his metallic features, only making him hot and restless.

Once he was officially a whole twenty-two minutes late, Papyrus finally appeared on the horizon, making his way up the winding, grass-bordered path to the bench Mettaton was sat upon. Mettaton stood as he saw him and waved him over, eager to see him after all this time. No matter what had happened between them, Papyrus’ presence was still a relief to have around. It was like he radiated happiness, lighting the world around Mettaton like the sun did for others.

“I’m so sorry I’m late, Mettaton!” Papyrus apologised as soon as he was within earshot, jogging the rest of the way up the path. “My brother kept interrogating me about where I was going and why I looked so anxious about it-”

A sting of guilt sparked in Mettaton’s features.

“O-only because I haven’t seen you in a while! I was worried about you,” Papyrus admitted, kicking himself internally for letting Mettaton know he was worried at all. He didn’t need that after all he’d put him through recently.

Mettaton’s eyes softened and he sighed. “You don’t have to worry about me, Papyrus. Everything’s perfectly fine.” 

Before Papyrus could question the sincerity of that statement, Mettaton sat back down on the bench, gesturing for Papyrus to follow suit. 

Once they were both seated rigidly and at a respectable distance, Mettaton turned to look at the side of Papyrus’ face, who was pointedly looking off over the lake.

“We have to talk about what happened, Papyrus,” Mettaton said softly, restraining the urge to scoot closer and take his hand to calm his nerves. That would surely get them nowhere.

Papyrus just nodded and said nothing, as though all words were foreign to him all of a sudden. Even though he knew that this is what they’d be discussing, some part of Papyrus had been wishing they could just pretend it never happened.

“I want to start by... apologising,” Mettaton said, taking a deep breath, “You don’t deserve any of this. I should have known you had feelings for me- the more I remember our interactions, the clearer it becomes. I should have never... lead you on like that.”

“It’s not your fault, Mettaton!” Papyrus gasped, suddenly finding speech return to him, as though the thought of Mettaton feeling bad was enough to give his mind a surge of urgency, “It’s me who caused this whole mess! I kissed you and made you have feelings for me in return somehow- I made you cheat on your boyfriend!” 

Mettaton winced at his volume and looked around, hoping no-one was listening. 

Papyrus noticed. “Sorry,” he whispered. “It’s true, though! You have done nothing wrong, and definitely have nothing to apologise for.”

“Sweetheart-” Mettaton finally scooted closer then, figuring it would probably help Papyrus keep his volume down, “-I have no idea how you’ve come to the conclusion that you’re the one to blame here, but I can assure you it’s not true.” Mettaton didn’t know how to approach the subject anymore, Papyrus was worse-off than he’d feared. He bit back his feelings and soldiered on. “I think that maybe... the kiss was merely the result of alcohol and a long, tiring night.”

Papyrus looked up at him with a curious expression. “Really?”

Mettaton balked, not quite liking Papyrus’ disappointed tone. “Well, I’m sure if I had all my wits about me, I wouldn’t have kissed someone who wasn’t Danny so easily.”

Papyrus gulped, looking down at his hands as though they were suddenly very enticing to see. For some reason, being called ‘someone who wasn’t Danny’ wasn’t sitting with him right. “...Do you regret it?”

“Hmm? What kind of question is that?”

Papyrus shrugged and wrung his hands. “Do you?”

 _No_. “Yes, I do.” Mettaton looked away, wincing.

Papyrus’ body froze in place, like he was willing time itself to stop as he let these words settle with him.

Mettaton, upon closing his eyes so he couldn’t see Papyrus’ reaction, carried on. “I probably wouldn’t have... told you all of that stuff about having feelings for you either, had I still had my inhibitions.” He was being cruel, he knew; but it was better for Papyrus this way. In the long run, anyway.

“Did you... even mean what you said? About... having feelings for me?” 

_Yes, with all my heart_. “I’m... not sure.”

Papyrus looked away suddenly, surely to hide his dismayed features. “That’s okay!” he croaked. “I guessed as much anyway! I-I have many other romantic options regardless.”

“Papyrus, you don’t have to act brave for me. I know this is probably hard for you to hear.” He placed a hand on his shoulder, intending it to be reassuring and, most importantly, platonic.

To Papyrus, the touch burned with a mixture of longing and disgust. “Can we still be friends?” he asked, still not looking him in the eyes.

“Oh, Papyrus, of _course_ we can still be friends. I’d honestly be devastated if we weren’t. You mean a lot to me, darling.” 

“You just don’t... care about me in _that_ way?” 

Mettaton took his hand away. “I’m sorry, Papyrus. You must think me incredibly cruel.”

“Not at all! I’m used to it!” Papyrus regretted his admission as soon as he saw Mettaton’s troubled look. “Don’t worry about me, Mettaton. I’ll be okay.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely!”

The silence that followed was deafening. 

They felt like the only two in the whole world. Just themselves and the whirling pit of nausea that was welling in their guts. Papyrus wanted to leave dreadfully- to just up and go before Mettaton had any other terrible things to tell him. 

All this time, Papyrus hadn’t even questioned Mettaton’s feelings for him, it never occurred to him that he would lie about them. Why would he? What would he get out of that? Unless he just wanted to steal a kiss- which sounds a little too seedy for Mettaton. Papyrus couldn’t quite work it all out and wanted desperately to escape this situation and lie in a dark room with just his thoughts for company for a while.

“I-I think I need to go home now!” Papyrus said, trying to keep his voice from wavering, though it was incredibly difficult when he had around six different emotions running through it all at once. “I’m sorry to cut our conversation short but I just remembered I have something incredibly, incredibly important to attend to!”

Mettaton, shocked by his abrupt attempt at leaving, stood as he did. “Wait- Papyrus, hold on-” he waited until Papyrus turned towards him and realised foolishly that he had no idea what he intended to say to him, only that he wanted him to wait. “I... just want you to know that I care about you dearly, and that none of this is your fault. I’ve been selfish and I should never have played with your feelings like that. I hope you can find it within yourself to forgive me?”

Papyrus’ features crinkled up in a way Mettaton didn’t know a skeleton was capable of. It became apparent that he desperately holding back tears. 

“There’s nothing to forgive!” Was all Papyrus could choke out before turning on his heel and leaving Mettaton with his gut-wrenching guilt. 

_Why did I do that?_ Mettaton questioned, sitting back down on the bench again, completely deflated. _Was that really the right choice? To break away from him so coldly like that?_ It certainly felt like the right choice at the time. It made sense! If Papyrus didn’t think Mettaton had feelings for him, it would be easier for him to move on.

Though seeing Papyrus’ face contort in some despairing emotion Mettaton would rather have never witnessed made him rethink. Could he have worded himself better? Should he have hugged him? Soothed him? Not said anything at all?

Mettaton held his head in his hands. _Get ahold of yourself, Mettaton_ he instructed, _He’ll bounce back. A charming guy like that will probably be dating someone new in a week._ Something in his soul panged and he scolded it brazenly. Papyrus wasn’t for him, no matter how much the foolish part of him wished he was.

He didn’t deserve Papyrus, and Papyrus certainly didn’t deserve him. 

~~~

The sun was lowering, casting long shadows across the ground, making the trees appear grotesque as the shadows of branches turned and twisted along the grassy paths Papyrus was marching across. The faster he walked back to his car, the quicker he could get home and lock himself away from anyone’s sympathetic eyes. Sans should be out of the house right now so he could even get away from his inevitable questions.

The last thing he needed right now was an interrogation; he wasn’t sure how long these tears could be held back but he knew that Sans’ worried questions would bring them straight to the surface.

He was halfway home when he realised he should have probably offered Mettaton a lift back. He knew Mettaton couldn’t drive, they’d discussed it before- he usually got chauffeurs to escort him from place to place. Had Papyrus just left him to walk home after just walking all the way there?

He felt selfish. Why he cared so much that he’d been seemingly rejected by someone who was already in a relationship was beyond him. What had he expected? Papyrus wasn’t sure. Somewhere in his mind had convinced him that everything would work out somehow without any heartache. He knew now that this was an unreasonable expectation.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened and he frowned. Why did everything have to be so complicated? Why did Mettaton have to be engaged? Why did he not return his feelings for him? Why did no one ever return their feelings for him? 

Without conscious thought, Papyrus’ pressure on the gas pedal increased, and his car sped up. The world was passing by him as the thoughts in his mind were racing. Everything was moving too fast for him to understand, scathing words were streaming through his brain with such a negative purpose that he could barely make any sense of them. He felt beyond awful for reasons he hadn’t figured out yet and before he could let himself elaborate on them, he’d hurry home as fast as his car could carry him.

He didn’t realise he was speeding until he crashed.

A car pulled out of an oncoming junction, too fast for Papyrus to see and way to quickly for him to stop. With a body-jerking jolt, Papyrus slammed into the side of the offending car, pulling him to a sickening halt that made his senses spin.

He was frozen in shock, hands not leaving the steering wheel as he took three painful breaths. 

_Am I hurt?_ He looked down at himself and didn’t notice any immediate signs of ailment. He’d heard that people sometimes don’t realise they’re injured if they’re in shock. _Am I in shock?_ He didn’t know. Taking two more deep breaths, he let go of his vice-like grip on the steering wheel and went to open the car door.

 _I hit someone!_ Whilst shaking, he stepped outside, a nauseating feeling telling him that the worst had happened. The other person’s car was quite the state upon inspection, nothing too horrifying but the front bonnet currently had Papyrus’ sportscar wedged in it, making it look worse than it was. 

“Why don’t you look where you’re going!?” A booming voice called and Papyrus looked up, shaking again. He was too wrapped in guilt at that point to realise that ‘looking where he was going’ wasn’t really Papyrus’ prerogative when on a road where he had right of way.

He took the entire blame regardless.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you-”

“You must have been going at least 50mph! In a fucking 30 zone- what’s wrong with you?” They continued as they approached him. They were another monster, tall and bear-like with soft brown fur and green eyes. Papyrus almost felt as though he recognised him.

As the bear saw it was another monster he was talking to, he quietened down. 

“I’m sorry!” Papyrus repeated again. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“You don’t fucking say,” the bear muttered, looking at his car in despair. “We’re lucky there were no casualties. If I’d been a second later things could have been way worse- you’d have driven straight into _me_.”

Papyrus was lost for words. He’d never been so careless before, and for such a vain reason too. His feelings were hurt so he thought driving recklessly was acceptable?

He sighed. “Will your insurance cover this?”

The bear shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose. I just wish this hadn’t happened in the first place. I was supposed to be getting to work... Shit, I’ll have to call in, hold on.”

Papyrus held on, waiting patiently as the guy made a quick call to his boss. He wanted dreadfully to just get back into his car (which had miraculously suffered minimal damage after the whole ordeal) and drive away. But he couldn’t, in fact, he was fairly sure that was against the law. So he stayed put and waited, hoping despite his own guilt that he’d be able to go home soon.

“We’re going to need to swap details so I’ve written mine down for you,” the bear monster said as he returned to the nerve-fraught skeleton.

“Details?” Papyrus asked as he took the paper he was being offered.

“You know? For the insurance company?” 

Papyrus’ eyes widened with realisation. He was being so forgetful today, like the logical part of him wasn’t quite connected to the rest of him. His eyes tuned in to the sheet the bear had hastily scrawled his name, address and registration details on. He didn’t get passed the name before his eyes shot back up to the monster in front of him.

“Elliot?!”

They locked eye contact, and slowly, Elliot’s eyes turned from confusion to something similar to remembrance. 

“Hey- aren’t you that kid from school? That skeleton kid- ah, what was your name-”

Papyrus opened his mouth to talk, always eager to introduce himself as ‘The Great Papyrus’ but Elliot carried on before he could.

“ _Pointless Papyrus_.” Elliot said followed by a roar of laughter. 

Papyrus remembered the nickname. Unfortunately. 

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I just go by Papyrus now.”

Elliot’s laughter slowly died off in a trail of chuckles. “Don’t look so glum, Papyrus,” he said, patting him on the shoulder a little too roughly, shaking the skeleton’s frame, “There are worse words that start with ‘p’.” With that revelation, he started laughing again.

Papyrus chuckled along forcibly, so to make the situation less awkward. However, his laugh was altogether too loud and strained which plummeted the mood even further. 

Elliot caught on and sighed. “Aren’t kids cruel?”

“Yes, I suppose...”

With a string of unenthused, short answers coming from the skeleton, Elliot finally got the hint and let Papyrus give him his information and be on his way. Neither of the cars were too badly damaged to have to call any emergency services, or the authorities for that matter.

Papyrus was relieved, he couldn’t see himself leading a life in prison. It always sounded so gruelling, so arduous; not something for a skeleton of his standards at all. 

Though he wasn’t even sure what his standards were anymore. They seemed to be slipping further and further away as the days progressed, like uncatchable droplets of water down the kitchen sink. Too fast to grab hold of, impossible to keep within his grasp anyway.

He shuddered thinking of the ways he’d let his standards drop these past few weeks. No matter how little he wanted to think about it, his mind listed them anyway:

-Developed feelings for an engaged man.  
-Fell in love with an engaged man.  
- _Kissed_ an engaged man.  
-Got upset when rejected by an engaged man.  
-Almost caused a fatal traffic accident thinking about an engaged man.

He sighed and pulled into his driveway. Mettaton certainly seemed to play a key role in his blatant drop in standards. That man really did something to him that he would never suspect of himself. He was intoxicating; Papyrus knew that being around him couldn’t be good for him, but the thought of staying away made his soul lurch. 

He locked his car up monotonously. Today had been an odd day and Papyrus felt completely detached from it all. He took a sneaking glance at the damage to the front of his car before wincing and looking away completely, just heading for the door. That was a problem for another day. He was just lucky it was nothing more than a few dents and scrapes. Though, “lucky” isn’t how he’d describe himself at all at this point.

“Sans?” Papyrus called out, flicking on the light switch. He breathed out in relief at the silence he was greeted with. Explaining himself to Sans wasn’t at the top of his wish-list. 

He collapsed onto the couch and slumped in a way he’d usually scold for having bad posture. All of his standards really had left today, it seemed.

He closed his eyes and tried to understand something. _Anything_. But it his thoughts were uncooperative. Everything was so difficult lately, it seemed his life was being pulled in twenty different directions at once and he was barely able to keep track of which way he was moving next.

Papyrus barely noticed when the sky outside grew dark, he just sat, trying to make sense of something in his head. It was only when the unmistakable sound of the door opening followed by small yet mildly urgent feet was heard that he broke out of his contemplative state.

“bro?!” Sans called out, looking at him with deep concern. “I just saw the car- what happened?”

Papyrus looked up at him and shrugged. “It was an accident. I was going over the speed limit when-”

“-wait wait wait. _you_ were going over the speed limit?” 

“Yes, that’s exactly what I was saying. Pay attention, Sans!”

“alright, don’t snap at me- i’m not the one who crashed the car.” Sans regretted his word choice as soon as he’d spoken, seeing the look of despair grow in Papyrus’ eyes.

“Please, Sans. I don’t need this from you too.”

Sans was growing way past concerned at this point, sitting himself by his brother on the sofa and laying his hand on his arm. “what is it, bro?” he asked softly, willing the truth out of him.

Any other time, it would have worked. But Papyrus couldn’t bring himself to say anything, he just let the tears finally fall and pulled his knees to his chest like a comfort blanket. 

Both skeletons were at a loss for what to do.

~~~

Mettaton walked home. In all honesty, he enjoyed having the time to clear his head, letting the rhythmic tip taps of his heels calm his whirring mind. Mettaton’s thoughts worked in mysterious ways, his larger priorities often drowning out the rest.

Priority number one was simple. Fame. He’d always known this. Fame equalled happiness and if he had happiness, what could go wrong? He took a deep breath, reminding himself of this. 

The way to achieve priority number one was also simple, and it was already set in motion. Marry Danny. 

He took an even deeper inhale.

He thought about Danny for a moment and rearranged the images that presented themselves to him where he saw fit. Words like ‘boring’ and ‘lackluster’ came to mind but he pushed them back, replacing them with ‘handsome’ and ‘rich’. Even Mettaton winced at his own shallowness that time. 

_He doesn’t even treat you anymore, all he wants is sex_.

Mettaton shook his head. Who wouldn’t want sex from him? His attractiveness exceeded all bounds- surely it was a compliment that Danny was always so eager to be with him. 

He nodded to himself, yes that was the way to look at it. Danny was... unique! He was... fun to be around. 

_You have feelings for a skeleton_.

Mettaton was about to fire whoever was running his internal monologue and hire someone more chipper. So maybe he had feelings for Papyrus. Maybe Papyrus had feelings in return and he’d just shattered them into a million pieces. No big deal! Everything would work out- it had to! When had things not worked out for him in the past?

Mettaton didn’t want to answer that.

No, he’d carry on as usual. This was just a bump in the road; no one ever said relationships were easy after all. He’d be with Danny. Marry Danny. Fall in _love_ with Danny. He could see it all now.

Just as he was about to run out of things to put right in his mind, Mettaton found himself rounding the corner to his house, happy to have cleared everything up and shoved his problems under the carpet. You couldn’t have problems if you couldn’t see or even think about them! Being Mettaton was easy.

He opened the front door with a flourish, his view of the world renewed with added vigour.

 _Remember, be with Danny, marry Danny, fall in love with Danny_.

“Mettaton, where have you been? You know I don’t like it when you just disappear like that.”

_Ugh, Danny._

~~~

Confusing dreams were tonight’s visitor in Papyrus’ mind. They came and they went, making him toss and turn in unconscious distress. 

“You look wonderful tonight, Pappy.”

It was Mettaton’s voice, Papyrus could tell, but where it was coming from was sketchy. Was he behind him? Next to him? Here at all?

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” 

Papyrus looked down and found him. He was straddling his waist, laying on someone’s bed that was blatantly not his own. Mettaton was in the long glamorous dress he’d worn to the party and Papyrus was in his suit. Delighted at their position, he didn’t question what they were doing there.

“I’m okay, Mettaton!” he informed him.

Mettaton chuckled, “You’re always okay.” Slowly, and with apparent purpose, Mettaton drew a finger up Papyrus’ sternum, biting his lip as he did so.

“Are _you_ okay, Mettaton?” Papyrus asked in return, taking the wandering hand in his own, stopping it from its administrations.

Mettaton giggled. “Of course I’m not, Papyrus. You made me cheat on my fiancé. _The love of my life_.” 

All colour drained from Mettaton’s face like paint being washed down the drain. The world around them swirled in and out of existence, placing them on the bench they all so often found themselves on. They were now sat side by side, Mettaton’s head placed gently on his shoulder. Papyrus reluctantly enjoyed its warmth, nuzzling into his hair in return.

“All you want is to have me as your own,” Mettaton said lazily, as though his words barely meant anything. 

“That’s not true!!” Papyrus insisted. He pulled away slightly, starting to take offence. How could Mettaton speak so harshly to him? Even though... his words did hold _some_ truth.

Mettaton placed a hand on Papyrus’ femur, making the skeleton’s breathing hitch.

“Don’t tell me you don’t want me. That you don’t lust for me.” His hand drew higher up his leg slowly, like a test.

“I-I ah-” Before Papyrus could protest any further, their setting changed once again, placing them in the comfort of Papyrus’ own bedroom.

With a joyous laugh, Mettaton pushed Papyrus down onto the bed and climbed on top of him.

“This is what you want isn’t it?” Mettaton asked, “Me?”

It was taking everything in his willpower to keep Mettaton at bay and put him down when all he wanted was to take him in his arms and keep him there for all time. “Yes!” Papyrus gasped, finally giving in. “I want you Mettaton!”

With a rush of euphoria, all of his longing was satisfied as Mettaton bowed down and left an eager kiss upon Papyrus’ teeth. They kissed and kissed for what felt like years and Papyrus’ hands pulled him flush against himself as they did so, not wanting to let go in case the kiss ended forever.

“I love you, Mettaton, Oh God, I love you!!” he called out between kisses, barely able to keep his violent emotions to himself.

It was like these words made the whole world around them shift yet again, and a bright light was turned on the two of them as though they were being interrogated. Papyrus squeezed his eyes closed, wanting everything to stay the same, to stay in this one moment forever. But Mettaton was already pulling away, laying no more kisses upon his awaiting face. Slowly, Papyrus prised his eyes open and found himself blinded briefly by the light. When his vision finally came to, he found himself locked in place in terror, looking up at the person on top of him.

Danny.

“He doesn’t love you,” he said, voice echoing and piercing Papyrus like his words were made of knives. “He _hates_ you.”

“ _No!_ ”

Papyrus awoke and sat up with a jolt. He was shaking and gasping for air, like he’d just ran a marathon and more. It was alarming, seeing his room in its normal state after that, without that dreadful bright light and without any unusual guests. After a few seconds of retrieving his breath and calming his nerves, he settled back into bed again and pulled his pillow to his chest.

He knew one thing was for sure; things were never going to be the same again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things may seem bleak now but! Remember this is a papyton fic so I wouldn't lose hope just yet!
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Comments really help and kudos make me feel happy ^^
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


	9. Not Fair *

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW SMUT CHAPTER: 18+ ONLY (skippable)
> 
> Mettaton has returned from one of his many shows and has been blessed with the heavenly feeling of arousal. Unfortunately, his lover isn't exactly the most skilled in the bedroom and there's someone else Mettaton's mind keeps returning to...

Mettaton radiated tenacity in every sense of the word. He focused on that feeling and pushed out the rest, bursting into the bedroom with an air the suggested he wasn’t leaving until he got what he wanted.

Performing always put him in this particular mood. It gave him a zeal, a lust for life that made him want to tear off his clothes and reap all the physical pleasures he could be granted. The buzz from the audience chanting his name, the cameras recording his best angles (which were all of them) and the satisfaction that came from knowing he was adored by the whole world, surprisingly, all accumulated into him being... horny.

“I love it when you’ve just come back from your show,” Danny said, propping himself up on the bed on his elbows. “It always puts you in such a good mood.” 

Mettaton smiled at him coquettishly, stood by the bed, not moving any further. Danny liked it when he put on a show first, undressing slowly, teasing him with those heavy eyelids and toying lip bites. With one sleek motion, he slipped off his long gloves, throwing them to the side carelessly. Danny ate it up. With a dancing wiggle of the hips, Mettaton unzipped his dress down the back and let it fall to the floor around his ankles, giving his lover a feast for the eyes. 

“You decided to forego underwear today, huh? How dirty...”

Mettaton stepped closer, kicking his heels off as he went. “Well, you know me.” He straddled his lap, letting his hands wander over Danny’s chest before moving to his buttons and undoing them carefully, savouring each one. “I’m nothing but filth, darling.”

Mettaton pressed kisses into the side of Danny’s neck, pushing the shirt off of his shoulders as he did so. Mettaton’s one mission was to get Danny hard, as it always was. Once Danny was ready to go, he took over altogether, rolled him over on the bed and thrust into him until he eventually came. It was always the same old routine.

So for now Mettaton touched him tenderly, gently, leaving feather-light kisses along his skin and ground his hips against his crotch. Like usual. Mettaton was an entertainer after all, he knew how to put on a good show and how to keep an audience captivated.

In this way, he couldn’t help but accept his fate when his audience didn’t know how to return his generosity. Danny would take and take and never stop to consider Mettaton needing affection in return. His sexy robot liked to please, and please he certainly did. 

When his pants were finally discarded on the floor with the rest of the clothes, he pushed on top of Mettaton with a hunger. Mettaton spread his legs for him and pulled him close, letting him press inside with primal urgency.

If Danny noticed that Mettaton was flaccid each time, he never mentioned it. Either he was really that oblivious or he just didn’t care, Mettaton didn’t know and he didn’t want to think about it. He liked to entertain, it was what he centred his life on. This shouldn’t be any different, he told himself, and by the sounds Danny was making, he was certainly very entertained. 

Even though Mettaton was aroused at the start of their session, it was soon lost when Danny started thrusting into him. He’d press his face into the space between Mettaton’s head and shoulder and grunted quietly with every push of his hips. Mettaton would humour him, make sounds equivalent to that of a porn star just to get him going, all while inspecting his nails over Danny’s shoulder.

“That’s it, Danny. Right there, oh God, right there,” he’d moan, dragging his nails down his back the way he liked. He had no idea what was ‘right there’ but it certainly wasn’t anything that Danny was hitting. “You’re so good, Danny, just... keep going.” _Just get this over with._

“You like that, huh? You like that?” Danny hissed into his ear.

Mettaton moaned in reply, pressing the palm of his hand against the back of Danny’s head. “Just cum for me, Daniel.”

Danny went silent, still thrusting with that lacklustre rhythm, obviously not planning on orgasming for the time being. Mettaton rolled his eyes and stared off into the distance. He liked being desired, being able to make a man feel so spectacular, but he still wished he got something back from it. 

Surely not all sex was like this. 

People spoke about sex as though it was the most fabulous thing in the world. In fact, he was sure even Alphys and Undyne had a more satisfying sex life than he did, and that fact usually sparked jealousy inside of him like wildfire. 

Idly, he let his mind wander. 

He thought of other men, perhaps someone attractive would come to mind and he could use that to entertain himself whilst Danny was having his fun. That news anchor on TV at six was rather dishy, with dark eyes and burly muscles, Mettaton didn’t mind thinking about him at all. Oh and the man that appeared on that one show- what was it called again? Mettaton couldn’t remember but he could picture his face quite clearly, very pretty, very easy on the eye. He always seemed very sweet too-

 _I bet Papyrus is good in bed_.

Mettaton’s eyes widened and pushed the thought away as quickly as it came, trying to bring his attention back to the man who was currently fucking him. Much to Danny’s misfortune, however, there really wasn’t much to focus on. As much as he didn’t want to think about Papyrus at this moment, once his mind had dipped into the temptation, it was hard to keep away.

_Even Papyrus’ hugs are glorious, I bet he knows exactly how to treat a man in bed._

Mettaton could have slapped himself. Thinking about Papyrus right now was certainly not a good idea. Not in that way, not ever. He’d been so adamant on convincing himself that he didn’t have any romantic feelings towards him and now this? He’d tried so very hard to push the man to the back of his mind, tell himself that Danny was all he needed and yet...

The thought was too delicious. No matter how much he scolded himself, he felt his eyes closing, his grip on Danny lessening and his mind venturing into unknown territory. For a moment he could imagine it was Papyrus’ body on top of him, groaning in his ear, getting pleasure from pushing into him. Oh, how Mettaton wanted to make that skeleton feel good; if there was anyone in the world that deserved to feel writhing ecstatic pleasure, it was surely him.

Danny’s pace increased. Mettaton’s breath hitched. For the first time in his entire sex life with Danny, his moans were no longer entirely fake. The pleasure he gained from imagining Papyrus fucking him was immense, if not incredibly guilt-ridden. He pushed that aside for the time being, however, he had all the time in the world to feel guilty later, right now, he was having the time of his life.

“Ah! _Fuck_ ,” Danny hissed and he shuddered. All too soon, Danny was cumming, just when Mettaton was beginning to enjoy himself. He gave him three more thrusts, slower each time, riding out the last of his orgasm. 

With a satisfied sigh, Danny pulled out and rolled onto his back. He closed his eyes gently, a smile on his face that made Mettaton sneer. If he’d have just looked over at his lover for one second, he’d have noticed the dissatisfied erection that he was currently displaying. As it was, Mettaton gave up with hoping Danny could be that possibly generous, covered himself up with his sheets and laid back, trying to think of things like grandmas and Undyne to get rid of his arousal.

“I’m gonna jump in the shower, Mettaton,” Danny mumbled, his eyes still closed. “I have to meet up with my agent in an hour...”

Mettaton regarded him with disdain, but then it softened. He wasn’t sure what he expected, this is always how things went down. Mettaton made him feel good and then the sex was done. 

“Did you enjoy that, darling?” he asked softly, pushing his own erection down underneath the sheets so Danny wouldn’t see it bunching them up.

“It was wonderful, Mettaton,” he breathed. And with that, he leapt up from the bed and made his way to the ensuite bathroom on the other side of the room.

Mettaton watched him go, left at a crossroads. He could either walk off his dissatisfaction or... the more appealing option was currently yelling at him from his crotch. His hand had already made its own mind up, however, beginning to stroke at his cock underneath the sheets. 

Danny took long showers, he could get this over and done with by the time he came back into the room. Mettaton looked to the door, down to himself, and back at the door again before he threw his sheets aside and spread his legs, tugging at himself in earnest now. Grunting, he threw his head back and tried to regain the fantasy he’d been enjoying just minutes ago. 

Guilt be damned, thinking of Papyrus felt _good_.

He tried to picture what Papyrus looked like lacking clothes. His brain filled in the blank in his knowledge of skeleton anatomy, showing him a rather attractive lewd skeleton with a cock made of... _something_. The logistics of the situation didn’t matter to him at that point. It had been the subject of idle gossip between friends once-- the way skeleton monsters make love. He’d been told that they do, in fact, have the ability to conjure a penis and so his mind now latched onto that like a leech.

Mettaton’s other hand lowered to between his ass cheeks, just using his fingers to lightly tease himself as he thought of Papyrus’ erection. Mettaton was so far gone to fantasy at this point, he could almost feel Papyrus kissing him, like he had done that night they’d both confessed their love to one another. He often pushed the memory away with every fibre of his being, but right now, indulging in the thought just turned him on more. He could picture how that scene could have carried on, had he not left so soon. The image was exceptional. To imagine Papyrus’ kiss growing more eager, more lewd, those gentle touches beginning to hurt as he bites his lip and pulls his hair...

 _This is too intense_.

Mettaton would never be able to climax with his hand alone, the feeling was too excessive, too overwhelming that he could barely keep going at this rate. 

Instead, he grabbed a pillow from under his head and rolled over on top of it, straddling it. From this angle, he could rub the underside of his cock against the fabric. He bent over to rest on his elbows, allowing himself to thrust his hips against the pillow with ease. 

A stifled moan escaped his lips. _That was better. Much better._ Fucking his pillow was always his preferred position. He could spill all of the energy he wasn’t using during his sex with Danny into it, thrusting his hips with the vigour of a man on a mission. He tensed his ass cheeks with each jolt of his hips, desperate to keep stimulating the underside of his cock as long as it brought along that sweet climax.

Eager to get himself there, he brought his mind back to Papyrus. He thought of him in every position his dirty mind could imagine. First of which was on his back, looking up at him with those doting eyes as Mettaton rides him, feeling every bump and ridge of his cock as he moves. Oh God, that image sent spasms through Mettaton’s body, making his breath quicken with gasps. 

He wondered about the noises Papyrus would make. Would his moans be high-pitched and nasally like his speaking voice? Or would he change completely and lower his voice to a deep purr? Just imagining Papyrus possibly making a noise akin to moaning was enough to make Mettaton’s head spin. It seemed so un-Papyrus and dirty that it was just so exciting. That skeleton was the very definition of 'prude'. He batted away every mere suggestion of sex with a blush and a quickly changed subject; the thought of him actually getting down and dirty was just so beautifully tantalising. 

Mettaton loved the thought of him feeling good, losing control of that uptight nature and really enjoying himself. He’d give it all to him, gladly. Oh God, Mettaton would give that man anything in this moment as he rubbed his cock against the fabric of his pillow as though his life depended on it. Why did Papyrus make him act like this? So desperate and _shameful_. He lowered himself onto the pillow further, wanting nothing more than to keep this blissful feeling up.

He had to bite back erotic moans as the feeling intensified. Danny was just in the next room over, he couldn’t hear the noises of his lover pleasuring himself after they’d just had sex. That would just be insulting. So Mettaton held back his noises the best he could, allowing himself low hums of pleasure that he was sure Danny couldn’t hear. 

All he could do was wish with every fibre of his being that Papyrus could see him now. The thought was so disgustingly arousing to him. To imagine Papyrus watching him desecrate the sanctity of an engaged couples’ bed with his lust for another, perhaps to have him judging him, telling him that he’s vile. Mettaton hated how much it turned him on and made his cock throb underneath him. 

Mettaton whined as he pictured Papyrus walking through the door at that very moment, seeing him with his legs spread and a pillow firmly wedged between them, rubbing himself frantically against it to the thought of him. Mettaton wouldn’t be adverse to Papyrus slipping behind him right there and then, biting at his neck as he pushed inside, fucking him without remorse. 

Right as that image hit, Mettaton knew he was close. 

He had to bite another pillow to keep the moans stifled. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally call out Papyrus’ name in the heat of the moment, only to have Danny hear him. He kept picturing Papyrus taking him from behind, moaning his name, reaching around to take his cock in his hand and stimulate him further. He did the same to himself to secure the illusion, slipping a hand underneath himself to tug at his erection, pretending it was Papyrus.

It wasn’t quite right, however, the hand just felt like his own; which made sense, as it was. He broke out of his delirium momentarily to find a solution to his problem, he leant up on his hands, still twisting his hips against the pillow as he thought. 

Papyrus’ hands were almost always gloved when Mettaton saw him. Luckily, Mettaton shared that trait, often wearing gloves to match his outfits. He glanced around the floor towards the ones he took off just a moment ago and, for a very brief second, doubted his own sordid mind, asking _are you actually going to do this?_ He quickly shrugged it off when he thought of the looming climax that was hanging so closely over him. 

With a swift swipe, he grabbed a glove up off the floor, delighted in the fact that he’d found the right-hand one and slipped it on. He sat upright on the pillow, and took himself in his gloved hand, practically thrusting into it when he felt the stimulation it gave him. He closed his eyes one more time and imagined it was Papyrus’ hand around his cock, intending on making him cum.

And that’s exactly what he did. Immediately.

“Ohh, yesss! Yes!” he cried as he came, followed by a series of unreserved gasps and hisses. It was ecstasy, and for a second, he was lost in that moment, absolutely sure that his orgasm would never end.

At long last, however, it did. He slumped over onto his front, completely and _finally_ sated. He hoped Danny hadn’t heard his slip up with the moaning towards the end there, though he could still hear the water running in the shower, hoping that was enough to drown out the noise of Mettaton’s explicit sounds.

After satisfying himself, however, the guilt began seeping in. He took off his glove with disgust, throwing it back onto the floor where it belonged, then he put the pillow back, flipping it over so Danny wouldn’t see any mysterious stains for the time being. 

_How could I let myself think all of that?_ he questioned, shaking his head. He thought he had more self-control than that, but apparently there was still a side of him that refused to be tamed by the rest. He pushed it to the back of his mind, repeating _that meant nothing, that meant nothing_ over and over until he got the point.

So he thought about someone else whilst in bed with his partner. That was normal, wasn’t it? Sure people usually think of celebrities and pop stars and not the friend who also happened to be in love with him, but that shouldn’t matter. It didn’t mean anything! Nothing at all.

Danny entered the room again as he was fretting over his worries, looking over his sated form with a grin.

“You’re still here, huh?” Danny said with a proud lilt to his voice. “You’re welcome.”

Mettaton rolled his eyes, stretched and pulled himself up from his place on the bed.

He had some sheets to wash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooookay so I had to make use of that "explicit" tag somehow and I've been wanting to write this chapter for a while so... I hope you enjoyed it! I never said Mettaton was a good person in this fic, but he's trying! It's not his fault that skeleton is so cute...
> 
> All of your comments are appreciated and cherished! Thank you if you leave any <3


	10. The Unnatural Nature Of Things.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For one of the first times in history, Papyrus can't quite keep his emotions bottled up the way he likes, all the feelings keep spilling over the sides and making his loved ones well aware. At least his friends all have one shared one mission: cheer Papyrus up.

It was a struggle having every one of his thoughts contradict the other at every given moment. It seemed Papyrus’ own brain just wanted to confuse him; though perhaps it was merely an attempt to help. At least when he was confused, he felt less down about the whole situation, if only marginally.

He wasn’t used to it. Optimism was his speciality. He had the stuff in bucket loads, just swilling around in his soul and ready to pour out at every setback. Although every other time something had happened to him causing him to rely on his never-ending optimism, he always had Mettaton’s shows to help him also.

The rectangle always had some sort of inspirational quote to get him through. He’d tell his audience that they were beautiful inside and out, that nothing can get you down if you just believe in yourself and that he cared about each and every one of them deeply. Papyrus had always taken it to heart, believed he was looking through the television screen and speaking directly to him, convincing him that everything would be okay.

Now that he knew Mettaton in real life, and had heard his words actually spoken to him without the hindrance of a screen to separate them, he found he didn’t enjoy his words quite as much. He loved him, and that was a problem. He should have distanced himself before it got this far and he didn’t. His inevitable rejection hit him in the gut like a judges’ gavel against the hard wood of a desk, ruling someone guilty. And Papyrus ruled himself guilty of absolutely everything.

Even watching Mettaton’s shows made him anxious now. He couldn’t take his words as seriously as he once could. How could he possibly believe Mettaton was telling him that he loved all of his fans, including him, when he’d so explicitly said the other day that he had no such feelings for him? Sure, he could believe that there was still a platonic love that Mettaton had for him but Papyrus’ self-pitying brain didn’t let him have that either.

Nope! It was simple. He’d ruined everything with Mettaton and that was it. He probably only asked to still be his friend out of moral obligation... He hadn’t heard from him in a while, after all. 

Speaking of friends, Papyrus was roused from his silent wallowing in the kitchen to hear a knock at the door. Well, technically it was less of a knock and more of a pound. Though, Papyrus had grown so used to that sound he merely took notice of it any more. 

He put down the dish he was washing and placed it on the side to dry, wiping his hands on a towel before going to meet the impatient Undyne who was pummelling his door down.

“Undyne! What are you doing here? We don’t train until Wednesday... unless it _is_ Wednesday and the news reporter man decided to trick me today-- in which I’ll be sending in a sternly worded complaint-”

“-What are you talking about? It’s not Wednesday. I just thought I’d swing by and check on you,” she said, letting herself in and closing the door. “Can’t a friend come and see a friend for no good reason?”

Papyrus shrugged. “I suppose!”

“And I’ve heard you’ve been acting all mopey lately so I’m here to kick your ass out of it! There’s no sad Papyrus’ allowed on my watch!” she yelled, grabbing Papyrus’ shoulders and startling him.

“O-oh!” he gasped, trying to speak through all of her vigorous shoulder shaking. “So that’s why you’re here! I thought you had ‘no good reason’.”

Undyne let him go, finding that shaking the problem out of him wasn’t going to work despite what she’d hoped. “Maybe I just want to see my friend for no good reason AND to cheer him up?”

“...That doesn’t make sense.”

“Not with that attitude!”

Papyrus shook his head, not having it. “Undyne, I’m fine anyway! There’s no need for cheering up or any other such nonsense. I don’t know what Sans has told you but he’s just fussing over nothing!”

“He told me he’s never seen you so down for so long in his entire life and he needs me to come over to see what’s wrong with you.”

Papyrus looked up the stairs to Sans’ bedroom with disdain. Did he really have to inform everyone about this? It was much harder to pretend nothing was wrong when all of his friends knew that this wasn’t the truth. 

“So...” she said, gesturing towards him. “’Sup?”

Papyrus took a deep breath, ready to put on his best ‘everything is fine act’. The first step was convincing himself, the second was convincing the world.

“Nothing is ‘sup’! What Sans has probably noticed is me merely going through a stage of brief and non-worrying bout of torrential sadness. Nothing to fret over!” he said, smiling brightly through all of his words. “I’ve read it’s common for artistic people to be over-emotional for absolutely no reason at all.”

Undyne took his words in with a look of scepticism. “Hmm... I mean, if you say you’re okay. I don’t like the sound of this ‘torrential sadness’ thing you’ve got going on but... sure, I guess.” She shrugged and Papyrus knew she was uncomfortable, he could feel it radiating from her. Talking about emotions wasn’t exactly Undyne’s speciality. 

In a desperate attempt to help cheer Papyrus up without actually having to have any more chats where neither of them knew what to say, they decided to head out. Under Undyne’s order, they were going to have so much fun that Papyrus would be slam-dunked straight into the middle of Happyville without being able to leave.

He took her word for it. It sounded like a wonderful idea, honestly. He certainly wouldn’t mind having his mind distracted from everything for a while, and if Undyne was offering to help with that, he wouldn’t quickly turn her down.

They first went into town, perusing the shops and lusting over items that were way out of their price range. Then Undyne dragged him around a comic book store, and so, as payback, he dragged her around a garden centre north of town. 

Papyrus had been spending a lot of his spare time tending to his garden recently. It gave him a sense of responsibility. These pretty little plants depended on him for life and he’d nurture them until they blossomed, making him proud. He often had a problem with over-watering and giving them too much care, though he decided that was a good way to weed out the weak flowers. If they couldn’t handle all of the love he had to offer, then they weren’t the right plants for him anyway. 

Papyrus came away from the garden centre without buying anything new, only happy to be looking around. Undyne didn’t really get the appeal but appreciated Papyrus’ dedication to his new hobby. And plus, seeing him in slightly higher spirits due to the trip was more than enough to keep Undyne happy.

They finally returned to Papyrus’ house and watched movies for a while. Before they knew it, the day had swivelled around to night and Sans came to sit by them, adding his little comments to the movie they were watching. 

Papyrus almost felt like normal. Like he was in the underground again with his best friend and his brother, back in a time where his worst problems consisted of human-catching and lack thereof. Really, the only difference was that now he was mopping up the remnants of a broken heart that had no right to be broken in the first place... and yet if he focused hard enough, he found he could pretend this wasn’t the case.

At long last, Undyne parted with him, giving him a hug tight enough to break him if she’d intended to. He returned the hug softly, appreciating her gesture. And then she was off, telling him to ‘feel better soon or else!’. He took comfort in her aggressive care and returned to sit beside his brother, and together they shared a comfortable silence.

~~~

“Have you s-spoken to Papyrus recently?” Alphys asked, Mettaton’s head on her lap as they shared idle gossip. He’d come around to her house when in dire need of his friend’s attention and they’d spent the rest of the night watching TV, curled up on the sofa. 

“Papyrus? Not in a little while... why?” Mettaton returned, picking his words carefully. 

Alphys shrugged, looking at her phone over his head on her lap. “Undyne says he’s been acting weird.”

Mettaton narrowed his eyes. “Acting weird? What does that mean?”

He heard the little taps of her claws hitting her phone screen and then, seconds later, she answered him. “Apparently he’s just n-not himself. He’s upset about something...”

Mettaton sat up and leant on her shoulder, shamelessly looking at her phone to see her messages. Of course, it was Undyne telling her all of this. Papyrus’ best friend. At least that meant he had someone with him to keep him company throughout whatever it was that was wrong with him.

 _Don’t act so dumb_ , Mettaton told himself, _you know exactly what’s wrong with him, and it’s down on you._

His soul twisted within its casing, making him feel sick. Why he’d ever told Papyrus he had feelings for him in the first place, he’d never know. It felt like a good idea at the time. And it also felt like a good idea to take his love away again just as Papyrus was at his most emotionally vulnerable. Mettaton was starting to think that he should just ignore his ‘good ideas’ from now on and be less impulsive, though he doubted that would be so easily achieved.

“It’s probably to do with his car getting all messed up. Undyne says it didn’t look too bad but b-being in a crash m-must have really scared him,” Alphys continued, in between the little tip taps of her fingers on the keypad.

“Wait... crash?! Papyrus was in a crash?” Mettaton asked, eyes wide. 

Alphys returned the expression. “He d-didn’t tell you? I thought you two were friends now!”

Mettaton shook his head. “I had no idea. What happened? Is he alright?!”

Shocked a little at his urgency, Alphys quickly reassured him. “H-he’s fine! Just a little shook up- Mettaton? Where are you going?”

Mettaton had stood up, beginning to leave the room to stand in the hallway, phone up to his ear. He left Alphys and her questions behind in the living room, waiting for Papyrus to pick up.

“Darling!” he exclaimed as soon as Papyrus answered. “I heard you’ve been in a crash. Why didn’t you tell me? What happened? Did you get hurt?” 

Papyrus was silent for a moment, taking in all of Mettaton’s questions that had been so abruptly thrust upon him. Then he cleared his throat. “I’m alright, Mettaton! Seriously, there’s no need to worry. The crash wasn’t too bad.”

Mettaton took a deep breath and steadied himself. “Alright. Good, sweetheart. Good...” 

As his mind failed to deliver the right words to him, Mettaton inspected the shoddily applied wallpaper in Alphys’ hallway, trying to return himself to a state of calm so he could talk naturally to Papyrus.

“So...” he started, hoping it would inspire more words. “How have you been, darling?”

It soon became apparent to the both of them within the deafening silence that this was the first time they’d spoken since that one terrible conversation in the park. This fact did nothing to push the conversation further.

“I’ve been perfectly fine.” Papyrus’ tone was just convincing enough to keep Mettaton’s concerns at bay. For around a second.

“Look, Papyrus, I’m going to have to cut through the niceties,” he said, his voice low to stop Alphys overhearing, “I miss talking to you and I know we left things in an awkward place last time we spoke but I sincerely hope we can sort things out.”

Papyrus spoke up with urgency. “I hope so, too! In fact, I didn’t even notice any awkwardness- has there been awkwardness? I don’t think there’s been awkwardness.”

Mettaton could feel the awkwardness wash over him in sickening waves.

“Darling, I-” he cut himself off. His plan to tell Papyrus to stop lying to him and to confide in him all the emotions that were currently eating him up was quickly dashed by Mettaton’s own selfish need to not know. The guilty part of his mind preferred the fact that Papyrus was keeping this from him, as it made life easier on himself. “Would you like to meet up some time soon? I think some time spent together would do wonders for our friendship.”

Papyrus couldn’t help but agree.

~~~

It had been decided that Papyrus would drive to Mettaton’s house the following day at noon. Mettaton promised that he’d be home by then to greet him at the gates and let him in, and, unlike his many promises he’d made flippantly to people in the past, he kept this one. 

Mettaton grimaced in sympathy upon seeing the bonnet of Papyrus’ car, all dinted and scraped. Not bad enough to be deemed undrivable, though, and Mettaton reminded him of the fact when Papyrus’ appearance showed nothing but sadness for his beloved vehicle. 

“It’s my fault,” Papyrus commented as they stood surveying it in Mettaton’s winding driveway. 

“You say that about a lot of things, Papyrus,” Mettaton said, turning away and leading the way to the house. “It’s hard to believe that you’d damage your car on purpose.”

Papyrus, who had been in a distant state of unrest since making the plans to meet up with Mettaton, followed him, keeping close to his heels as though straying too far from him in this house would leave him lost forever.

“Well, no... not on purpose! But I was the one that caused the crash. I’m as guilty as a naughty child with their hands in the cookie jar.” 

Mettaton regarded him closely, smirking at his analogy. It was odd to him, really, to see someone so easily compare themselves to that of a child, as though it was natural. Papyrus was no child, Mettaton knew that much, and he certainly wouldn’t like to be treated as such, though he supposed it was easier to treat himself like a child in instances where self-pity was needed. It took some of the guilt away if you saw yourself as unable to know better.

They entered the main hall of Mettaton’s mansion, and the robot regarded Papyrus’ expression with amusement. His house was impressive and the skeleton’s wordless awe showed it. ‘Big’ wasn’t the correct word for it. _Gargantuan_ was more apt if Mettaton was feeling particularly arrogant, which he usually was. He also took pride in his design tastes, having put the whole place together, fitting the decor with the furniture with a keen eye. 

“Your house is beautiful!” Papyrus said with a grin.

Mettaton smiled at him. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

Just then, footsteps were heard pattering down the winding staircase to the left of them. “Mettaton? Do you have a guest over?”

Almost instinctively, Mettaton took a step forward and shielded Papyrus from Danny’s line of sight as he reached the bottom of the stairs. His efforts were futile, however, as Danny simply stepped to the side to see who was stood there.

“Oh!” Danny spoke as he saw him. “Papyrus!”

The silence stung.

“Yes, well, we’re going out into the garden,” Mettaton said after a moment. “Papyrus has an interest in flowers... I’m going to show him ours.”

Papyrus looked between them anxiously, feeling like a prisoner who’s fate was being decided for him. 

“Wait a moment, I can’t just let you go like that. Not when I have you here,” Danny started, and Mettaton nearly let him have a mouthful of ‘you can’t tell me what to do’ before he continued, facing Papyrus, “I want to apologise. The other week, I must have been out of my mind. I’m not normally as rude as I was... and you should be treated with more respect, not only as my dear Mettaton’s friend but as a person. Accusing you like that was wrong of me. So, for that, I’m sorry.”

Papyrus’ throat had constricted, not letting him speak. He’d love to tell him that it was okay, that he had nothing to apologise for because he’s kissed his boyfriend and he was in the wrong! But that wasn’t just his secret to keep, and telling it could endanger his relationship with Mettaton forever, so his words simply formed “It’s okay!” and he left it at that.

Danny looked pleased to be so easily forgiven, he definitely didn’t want to be grovelling at this skeleton’s feet, and so he let them go, watching them walk through the house and into the garden.

It was flattering to Papyrus that Mettaton had remembered his interest in flowers. He’d mentioned it without much thought once in the midst of a meaningless conversation, but Mettaton had taken his words to heart, and decided today that Papyrus would appreciate the vast gardens at the back of his mansion. Even before seeing the gardens, he was immensely grateful of Mettaton’s invitation, no matter how much it made his soul ache to know that he was thinking of him. So much for ‘just friends out of moral obligation’.

The gardens were much like the house, grandiose and spectacular. There was a courtyard in the middle that was paved over with pure marble, decorated with ornate statues of scantily-clad men and women, looking serenely into the distance. This was only the heart of the gardens, however, and the rest was made up of sheltering trees and perfectly placed flowers. Not one thing was out of place, not a flower grown errantly or tree branch stretching where it shouldn’t. Oddly enough, everything about Mettaton’s garden felt artificial, like it was merely a design drawn up by someone with an eye for perfectionism, not one thing being allowed to veer off the path. It was like the word ‘nature’ was foreign here.

“Wowie!” Papyrus said as they passed through and walked into the courtyard, stepping through a marble arch that glinted dazzlingly in the sunlight. 

“Wonderful, isn’t it?” Mettaton said. “Now, I can’t take all credit for it, I have a whole team of gardeners who have put their efforts into making this place beautiful... although I _did_ come up with all the designs.”

Papyrus surveyed the statues that were surrounding them, their majestic looks appearing other-worldly. His gaze fell on one in particular, and then he broke out into a smile. “Is that a Mettaton statue?”

Mettaton chuckled. “It sure is. That was my idea...”

Then he noticed another very familiar statue, situated on the other side of the courtyard, a brooding glare upon its features. “And a Danny statue!”

“...Danny’s idea.” Mettaton started to get the feeling that Papyrus would very much appreciate moving on from the courtyard. There was something very judgemental about these glowering faces that encircled them that Mettaton had never noticed before.

Papyrus was starting to feel it, too, and so when Mettaton suggested they turn their attention to the flowers like he’d first intended, he agreed merrily.

They left the courtyard and Mettaton led him down a narrow path that was bordered on either side by tall creeping flowers that wound around metal poles. Papyrus’ attention kept being drawn back to the robot that was with him, however, making notes of everything that he could possibly make note of-- The softness of his makeup today matching his floral skirt and white top that Papyrus liked to think he wore especially for the occasion, the way his hands moved with every enunciation of his voice, giving his words added importance, and the way his eyes would always find themselves back on Papyrus no matter what they were talking about, like he was unable to draw them away.

Despite how much he enjoyed all the attention Mettaton was paying him, he almost wished he was given less. Friendship was a wonderful thing, and he intended to make this work, but the way Mettaton’s eyes lingered a little too long in the hollows of his own always made him shiver with longing. 

“What’s this flower called?” Papyrus asked, drawing the attention towards a small pink flower that bloomed down in the soil, its beauty drowned out by the rest of the overpowering flowers that towered over them. “I don’t think I’ve seen this one before.”

Mettaton almost looked disappointed. Of all the grand and exotic flowers they had surrounding them, Papyrus’ interest had been caught by one of the most simplest. “Oh that? An amaryllis, darling.”

“It’s beautiful!” Papyrus said, bending down to look at it closer. “It looks like a lily... which isn’t a good thing because my last lily died tragically!”

“Tragically?”

“During the great watering extravaganza of April! Only the strongest survived,” he told him, gaining a chuckle from the robot. “This flower reminds me of you.”

Mettaton took a closer look at it. It certainly didn’t look like anything special to him. “Oh yeah? How so?”

“It has a kind look to it!”

“Ha! How sweet.” Mettaton hadn’t meant to sound mocking, but ‘kind’ wasn’t an adjective he usually picked out for himself, Papyrus’ use of it caught him off guard.

The skeleton stood from his crouching position again and was led further into the garden.

“I’ll show you a flower that truly does represent me,” Mettaton said, pointing over to a giant flower head that grew magnificently in the centre of a shrub, looking largely important in comparison to everything in the vicinity. “King Protea, the national flower of South Africa, large and beautiful. Even the _name_ is regal and just look at it... it demands attention! And, according to the gardeners that work here, it’s incredibly high maintenance.” He looked over at Papyrus with a smirk. “It’s an MTT-brand flower if ever I saw one.”

“It’s cool!” Papyrus said with a smile. 

There was a pregnant pause as Mettaton waited for more. “Is that... it?”

“And big!” 

“Well, yes, it is but... you aren’t impressed?” 

Papyrus shrugged. “Yeah!” He looked at Mettaton blankly, wondering what else he wanted from him. “It’s... a very nice flower!”

Mettaton had expected Papyrus to be more excited by it, a flower like this was notable by anyone’s standards and Papyrus was a flower enthusiast... but he’d seemed more intrigued by that little amaryllis. Perhaps he was just a man of simpler tastes, Mettaton wasn’t sure. He didn’t mind so much, however. Today had been for Papyrus’ benefit, and if that small flower had cheered him up, if only slightly, Mettaton deemed his job done.

Thinking of this, Mettaton looked out over the garden again for any sight of Danny and, when he didn’t see him, he dropped his voice low and spoke. “Papyrus, I know you haven’t exactly been feeling yourself lately. And maybe I’m just flattering myself to think that it’s my fault and that I’ve caused you to feel like this but... if that _is_ the case, then I apologise deeply.”

Papyrus shook his head as though he was trying to shake Mettaton’s words away. “I’m fine.”

“Can I ask why you didn’t tell me about the car crash?”

For one of the first times that day, neither of the two could bring themselves to look at each other. 

“I didn’t think it was important.”

Mettaton wasn’t taking that for a truth. “Really? By this point I’d like to consider us close friends, darling. I thought you’d tell me when you’d been through something like that.”

Papyrus started walking in the opposite direction, unsure of where he was going, his legs just wanting to escape. “It wasn’t that bad!” he told him. “I’m fine! Absolutely fine!”

“When did it happen?” Mettaton pushed urgently, following him. “Please, Papyrus, stop walking away and answer me. When did it happen?”

Adhering to his request, Papyrus stopped but didn’t turn to look at Mettaton. In fact, his eyes scrunched shut as he replied, as though he didn’t want to chance seeing Mettaton at all. “It happened just after we spoke last. Wh-when we spoke about... the kiss and everything.”

The feeling of Mettaton’s soul being twisted into nothingness was shockingly sudden. This was the answer he’d been hoping not to hear. 

“After you rushed off...” he choked out. He turned and covered his face. “Oh God, Papyrus. I knew you’d taken that conversation badly but...” A sickening thought occurred to him and he swivelled around to look at Papyrus’ back with worry. “You didn’t crash... on purpose, did you?”

“What?! No! No... it’s not like that,” Papyrus assured him. He took a deep breath and faced his fear, looking Mettaton in the eye once again. “I was just emotional... but I’m alright now, I promise! Let’s forget about it!”

“Forget about it?!” Mettaton started but seeing Papyrus’ pained expression made him sigh. “Alright, darling. I won’t mention it again.”

“Thank you.”

But Mettaton wasn’t done with thinking about it. His guilt was eating him up inside and it finally manifested itself into pulling Papyrus into a deep hug. In that moment, he didn’t care about his own feelings that he constantly had to convince himself didn’t exist, and he didn’t care about Papyrus’ feelings that he had for him in return either. He could barely help himself, he’d made Papyrus hurt and couldn’t handle it. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered as he hugged him tighter, feeling his skeleton limbs loosely gripping him in return, as though holding him too tight would be illegal. 

It was an overtly selfish move, and something in the back of his mind told him that he was making things even harder for Papyrus by doing this, but it made him feel much better to know that he’d at least tried to comfort him. 

“I wish people would stop apologising to me!” Papyrus said, his forcibly-chipper voice cracking through his emotions. “There really is no need...”

“Alright,” Mettaton said softly, not letting him go just yet. “Although I better not look down to see you with tears in your eyes because then I’ll be inclined to say the ‘s’ word again.”

Papyrus was the one to pull away then, and he shook his head, smiling up at Mettaton to show he was alright. “You’re a good friend, Mettaton.”

“And I intend to be the best,” he said in return. “You deserve it.”

The mood had, beyond all expectations, barrelled back around to a bitter-sweet happiness again and both monsters were immensely glad of it.

Taking advantage of the lighter mood, Mettaton had an idea. A way of showing Papyrus how sorry he really was without actually saying it. He walked back a little while through the gardens, leaving Papyrus curious as to what he was planning.

Then he returned with a white pot with leaves carved ornately into the sides. Papyrus gasped, hoping secretly that he was giving it to him as a gift. But Mettaton didn’t hand it over to him, instead he walked straight past the skeleton and over to the little flower that had caught his attention earlier, placed the pot on the floor and kneeled down next to it, taking out a little spade he’d been carrying in the pot and dug up the flower.

“Wait! What are you-” Papyrus stopped as he watched Mettaton pick up the flower and place it in the pot, covering the roots with soil. 

“Here, take this,” Mettaton said as he picked up the pot once more and thrust it into Papyrus’ arms. “I know you liked it so... you can keep it.”

Papyrus looked hesitant as he held the flower in his arms. 

“It’s a gift, Papyrus... for being a good friend.”

“I’ll take good care of it!” he promised suddenly, holding it like it was the most precious thing he’d ever been given. “No over-watering or anything this time!”

Mettaton chuckled. “Do whatever you want with it, sweetheart, I don’t mind. I’ll ask my chief gardener when he returns how to look after it and text it to you later, alright?”

“Alright!!”

That plant pot didn’t leave Papyrus’ protective arms for the rest of his visit. Vowing to take the utmost care of it started right at that moment, it seemed. Mettaton was just glad to see Papyrus so much happier than when he’d arrived. He’d do anything to see that sweet smile light up his face.

At last, when the sun lowered over the horizon and Mettaton had a recording session with Napstablook to attend to, Papyrus deemed his visit had come to an end. Mettaton walked him back to his car and winced once again at the damage that had been caused to it. 

“Will your insurance pay for that?” Mettaton asked as Papyrus placed his flower pot into the passenger seat and secured it with a seatbelt. 

“Not all of it. And I can’t quite afford to pay my repair guy for a replaced bonnet at the moment... so it will just have to stay like that until I save up.”

“Oh... well, at least it’s still drivable!” Mettaton reminded him once again and Papyrus nodded.

“Indeed! It’s still useable... I’d like it to look good as well, though! Hopefully if I put in enough overtime... I’ll be able to afford it eventually.” He smiled at Mettaton with hope. “And that’s okay because I’m good at working hard!”

Mettaton wasn’t wholly convinced but smiled despite this. “I wish you good luck with that, darling.”

“Thank you!” 

He departed shortly after, driving away in his car with a cheery wave out the window. Mettaton watched the car wind away down the drive and out of sight, silently wishing him a safe journey. Once gone, however, Mettaton pulled out his phone and looked through his contacts.

“Alphys? Is Undyne there with you? Uh-huh, yeah. Ask her if she knows who Papyrus’ mechanic is, I want to speak to them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!! In this chapter we saw friends who are very definitely just friends and mild symbolism. I hope you all liked it!!
> 
> Your comments are appreciated! <3


	11. Heat Rising

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Love, longing and a hint of a new beginning? Papyrus is so hung up on Mettaton, it seems he's everywhere he turns, on his TV, in his flowers, even on the street as he's driving. Nothing can keep that robot away- but perhaps he's doing more harm than good.

Who knew being in love with a taken man would be so much trouble? Papyrus didn’t. He’d always thought it quite exciting when he saw it on the television, or in his books. Being locked up in his own little fantasy world often made him forget that these fictional situations were also possible in real life, and had real emotions to go along with them. Now that he’d had a taste, he’d very much like to go back to how he was before. At least when he didn’t have these feelings, everything was clear cut. Before, he was just a simple skeleton who had dreams, liked puzzles, cooked, hung out with his friend Undyne, nagged his lazy brother and watched Mettaton at the end of the day. Now his dreams had been achieved, they were on the surface and the world was open to them, he had a great job, friends and even knew Mettaton in person. Somehow, that last fact no longer seemed like a bonus.

He frowned at his own negativity. Just listening to himself lament on the subject was enough to bother him. Of course knowing Mettaton was a good thing, in its own way. He knew this really. He loved Mettaton in more ways than one- he just had to channel his love into the platonic kind and everything would be perfect. If only he could forget that kiss...

“hey, where’s the pet rock gone?” Sans questioned, looking at a potted flower that was currently sat in the rock’s place. 

Papyrus busied him out of the way with a watering can in his hand, topping the flower up with diligent concentration. “I bet you can guess where the pet rock is.”

Sans eyed him. “it’s not in my room, is it?”

The smile that spread across Papyrus’ face confirmed his suspicions. 

“you know i always forget to feed that thing- putting it in my room will do nothin’ to remind me,” Sans told him. “absolutely nothin’.”

Papyrus scoffed. “Where’s your sense of responsibility?”

“dunno, i must have lost it somewhere.”

“Then find it!” Papyrus snapped, pointedly ignoring Sans’ joke. “Or you’ll just have to feel guilty for killing it to death.”

“bro... that’s dark,” he replied, knowing fully well that Papyrus would never let that happen. He’d be feeding that rock again before the morning came around. “so what’s so great about this flower?” he poked one of the petals, “don’t talk, does it?”

Papyrus tapped Sans’ hand away. “No! After the _incident_ in the underground, I’m strictly on a no-talking-flower diet. It’s a gift, actually.”

“gift?”

“From Mettaton! We were talking about how I’ve been raising flowers and he gave this one to me to take home... it’s from his garden!” Papyrus was beaming. “It was very sweet of him.”

“sure was... but, i dunno about you- i’m not exactly a flower expert, but doesn’t it look a little like it’s-”

“Dying? Yes.” Papyrus gave it a glare. “Nothing a little water can’t fix!” he determined after a brief amount of thought. “I just have no idea how much water is ‘too much water’. Mettaton was supposed to tell me how to look after it but he hasn’t said anything yet.”

Sans shrugged. “you’ll get it, bro. i be-leaf in you.”

“I’m going to pretend I never heard that.”

After the fear of over-watering settled in, Papyrus relinquished the watering can and decided to stop bothering it for a while. 

Sans left him to it and returned to his bedroom for a ‘well-earned nap’. Papyrus could only roll his eyes, secretly glad that he’d left him alone so he could watch Mettaton’s show in peace. He hopped onto the sofa and flicked on the television. 

When Sans would watch these shows with him, Papyrus would have to endure joke after joke about Mettaton; puns about him being a robot, him being rich, his legs, his money- anything Sans could get his pun-loving hands on was doomed to be ruined. Papyrus wouldn’t mind completely, most of his anger towards Sans’ puns was in high-spirits, but Sans had picked up an annoying new strain of joke that focused wholly on Papyrus having an ‘obvious’ crush on Mettaton. Papyrus felt like he’d developed a terrible case of The Boy Who Cried Wolf when Sans couldn’t tell what jokes made him uncomfortable and what were just annoying. In Sans’ defence, the two reactions looked very similar.

It wasn’t true, after all. Papyrus didn’t have a crush on him, he was in love. It was unmistakably different! 

Papyrus would give anything for it to be a crush.

Just as he was successfully zoning his thoughts out and watching Mettaton interview some monster adorned in glamorous purple feathers, his phone rang to break him out of his trance. 

“Hello!” he chimed upon answering.

“Hey, Papyrus,” a gruff tone replied, immediately recognised as his mechanic, “So the payment has come through. You can bring your car in for repairs anytime next week, preferably Tuesday because I’ll be in the garage all day-”

“Wait- payment? I haven’t finished making up the money for it yet!” Papyrus sputtered, “I think there might have been some kind of mistake.”

“He didn’t tell you?” the mechanic questioned. “Huh, well that guy called the other day. You know the one- with the hair and the... face.”

“I might need some more details!”

Papyrus could hear him tapping on his computer through the receiver. “Mettaton! Yeah, that’s him. He said he was a friend of yours.”

“He is!” Papyrus confirmed, unable to keep the pride from his voice. “He... paid for all of it?”

“Everything. I assumed he’d told you... Unless I’m forgetting something.”

“No, no he didn’t tell me anything! I... wowie.” Papyrus was at a loss for words. “Thank you, I... I guess I’ll bring it in on Tuesday!”

“Sounds good. And, uh, congrats?” The mechanic hung up, leaving Papyrus with his emotions.

Deep down Papyrus knew that the cost of fixing the bonnet of his car must have made a very very small dint in Mettaton’s fortune, but the sentiment was really playing with Papyrus’ soul. The thought of Mettaton being so kind to him, thinking of him, always taking the time to make sure he’s okay; it was overwhelming. No matter what Mettaton’s feelings were for him in return, Papyrus could take solace in the fact that he must care a lot for him. 

He looked up at the Mettaton on TV, chatting away with his monster guest about this and that. Without so much as a warning, the conversation swivelled around to Danny.

“Oh, yes well, the wedding plans are coming along beautifully,” Mettaton spoke, smiling so brightly Papyrus was sure he was in danger of exploding with excitement, “We’re both worked off our feet putting it all together but it’s all worth it for him. I can’t wait until the big day where I can finally say my vows to the love of my life.”

Papyrus turned the television off.

~~~

The real Mettaton wasn’t at the studio at all. He was walking down the road in the blazing sun just to end up at Undyne’s house. The heat was thick and sticky, clinging to his limbs with each step. The humidity felt almost tangible, wading through it like he was being forced to traverse through an ocean. Why he was making all this effort when he could have just got a chauffeur to take him was beyond him. He’d looked outside that morning and figured it was a nice day, worthy of having a nice stroll. Now, as he trod through heavy air with the sun pounding down on his metallic head, he was beginning to think that had been a bad idea. 

Laborious journey aside, he eventually turned up at Undyne’s house. He had something important to ask her, and in usual Mettaton fashion, he didn’t call beforehand. He liked being a surprise.

He knocked on the door melodically and plastered on his best beguiling smile. Mere seconds later, Undyne opened the door, took one quick glance at who her mysterious caller was and shut it again.

“Undyne!” he gasped, knocking on the door with exasperation.

She immediately opened the door again, close to hysterics. “I’m just joking, come in,” she laughed, stepping aside. 

“Hilarious,” Mettaton muttered as he shuffled past her, relishing the feeling of Undyne’s air-conditioning hit him as soon as he entered. “Oh, this is heavenly,” he said, closing his eyes and forgetting everything for a moment.

“You wanna tell me what you’re doing here?” Undyne asked, slamming the door shut behind him. “Or are you just here to cool off.”

Mettaton broke from his reverie to answer her. “No, darling, I have a very important proposition for you.”

“A proposition? Dude, why do you make everything sound so seedy?” She shuddered. 

“Ha!” Mettaton let himself into her living room, throwing himself across the sofa like he owned it. “It’s completely seedless, I promise.” He frowned at his own wording.

Mettaton wasn’t the only one frowning. Undyne followed him in and crossed her arms. “So, what is it?”

He sat up and clasped his hands together, stars practically shining in his eyes. “I’m starting up a new establishment and I have a wonderful job offer for you, darling. I had the MTT-Resort underground and it was a big hit and, now that I’ve finished most of the recording for my latest show and am cutting down my workload considerably to focus on wedding preparations, I’ve decided to take on a side project.”

“There’s a job offer?”

“Let me finish,” Mettaton warned, waiting until Undyne settled herself beside him on the sofa to continue, “The establishment I’m opening is based on the places humans have here on the surface. It’s a drinking establishment mainly, but I intend to put on live performances at night, make it completely monster-friendly and, most importantly, just _oozing_ with homoeroticism.”

Undyne guffawed. “You’re opening a gay bar.” An amused smile curled the corners of her lips. 

“Oh, we all knew it would happen eventually,” he chuckled, “I’m thinking of calling it Nuts n Bolts. What do you think? Too crass?”

“Well-”

“No wait- I don’t care,” he interjected, “I’m the personification of trashy innuendos, it’s perfect.”

Undyne was quickly growing tired of listening to Mettaton’s conversation he was having with himself. 

She butted in, “So where do I come into this?” 

“Right! The fabulous Undyne, former captain of the Royal Guard. We haven’t always seen eye-to-eye but I know talent when I see it. And for this job, the only talent you’ll need is appearing big and scary and well...” he looked her up and down, “You were the first person I thought of.”

“Dude...” she shook her head, “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Don’t get used to it,” he quipped, “Work at my new bar as security. Papyrus tells me you’ve been in and out of work for a while now but this would be a full time position doing what you do best! I don’t know how you could possibly say no,” he carried on before she could reply, “All I want to do is create a nice, safe space for gay monsters. There’s so many monsters that come to me and say that they don’t dare to go to a lot of bars because they’re worried that some human will take a disliking to them- especially as the influence of alcohol kicks in. So, this would be a place where monsters can go with the confidence that they’ll have a good, safe night. I know for a fact that with you watching over the place, Undyne, you’ll make sure they’re all protected.”

“Mettaton, shut it for a moment- you had me at ‘full time’,”

His eyes lit up, “You’re in?!”

“Sure thing! I mean, it’s not easy getting work up here on the surface when you’re not built to be unrealistically attractive.”

“Why thank you!”

“So yeah, I’ll take the job!” Undyne, for one of the first times in forever, could have hugged Mettaton for offering this to her. Finding work on the surface had been more trouble than she cared to let on, but this finally seemed like a solution to all of her problems. And plus, Mettaton was loaded, surely working for him would pay well. “Thanks,” she coughed out.

Mettaton smirked. “No worries, honey. It’s an honour. By the by, do you also have contact with any of the old royal guard members? Any tough monsters you can get your hands on would be such a help.”

“Oh, sure! Yeah, I know a few who live kinda close by, I’ll let them know!” Seeing Undyne so happy was odd to Mettaton. She always seemed so aggressive, always on the verge of breaking something; now he could visually see her muscles relax in his presence, settling down into the sofa like she’d been tensing for weeks.

They spoke idly for a while, discussing the bar, the royal guard, Undyne’s experience; eventually, the talk came around to Papyrus.

“He always wanted to be in the royal guard,” she told him as she stretched her arms over her head. “I felt kinda bad not letting him but… he was too nice!”

“Being nice isn’t always a weakness,” Mettaton reminded her, “It’s what makes him… Papyrus!”

Undyne nodded. “I know that! I do! Papyrus is one of the greatest guys I know, I just don’t think it was for him. Too many emotions for a start. He’d probably start tearing up if I told him to beat up some bad guy.”

Mettaton raised a brow. “I don’t know… I think he’d do what’s right!” He pondered this for a moment. “He’s morally in the right place.”

“I guess…” Undyne shrugged. “But I’m not sure whether his _head_ is in the right place, especially at the moment. He’ll try and convince me he’s okay but… I dunno, he’s really down in the dumps. If I find out anyone’s been messing with him, I’ll make it so they don’t see the light of day-“

“I wouldn’t be so hasty!” Mettaton cut in, “You don’t know what’s wrong with him any better than I do. I think it’s best not to jump to conclusions.”

“Yeah, well. I don’t like seeing him like this!”

Mettaton twisted his lips, looking away as if in thought. He knew exactly what Papyrus’ problem was. Him. Though he barely dare admit it, even to himself. Definitely not to Undyne. 

“He’ll come around,” Mettaton assured her. “With such good friends, how could he not?”

Undyne, despite her short burst of anger, seemed to soften at this. “You’re right, yeah. You’ve been good to him, Mettaton. I don’t give you enough credit for that. You always manage to cheer him up somehow.”

The guilt that pulsed through Mettaton’s chest seemed to amplify at this, but he held his steady tone. “Anything for a good person like Papyrus.”

“Something we can agree on!”

Before he could over-stay his welcome further, Mettaton left. As soon as he stepped through the door, however, he was greeted once again with the heat that had been tormenting him from before. 

He’d only made it one street before he was lamenting his sorrows, having to walk all the way to Blooky’s place from here. He could have taken the bus if he had less pride. No, he’d committed to it now, nothing could change his mind.

“Mettaton? Mettaton!” Papyrus’ unmistakable car pulled up beside him, his voice like an oasis in the desert. He had the roof down, scarf billowing behind him as he drove. _Why is he wearing a scarf in this weather anyway?_ Mettaton asked himself, but immediately pushed the question away. Papyrus did look good, after all. “Where are you headed? I can give you a lift if you want!”

Mettaton smiled at him, leaning against the passenger side door. “Are you sure, darling? Weren’t you just heading somewhere?”

“Only Undyne’s!”

“That’s fair.” Mettaton opened the door and slipped inside, thanking him as he did his seatbelt. 

Papyrus smiled with his entire body. “No problem! You looked like you were five steps away from melting into a puddle!”

“How charming!”

“It would be a sexy puddle!” Papyrus said, regretting his choice in words immediately. “Anyway! Where are you heading?”

Mettaton, still slightly reeling from Papyrus’ hastily hidden compliment, took a second to remember. “Napstablook’s house. Do you know where that is?”

“Do they live near Shyren?”

“Yes, just a few doors down. Why?”

Papyrus started the car up. “Undyne gets me to pick Shyren up for her piano lessons every now and then. I can take you there in no time!” he promised, setting off from his place by the curb. 

As soon as Papyrus began picking up a faster pace through the clear streets, the hot air blown away, summoning a breeze that flitted through Mettaton’s hair. He closed his eyes and relaxed against the headrest as the heat became more bearable. He was most comfortable, sitting by Papyrus’ side.

“Thank you,” Papyrus spoke after a few minutes of silence.

Mettaton’s eyes flew open, not sure whether he’d heard him right. “I think I should be the one to thank _you_ , Papyrus. You’re the one giving me a lift.”

“No, I mean- I know what you did for me. You paid to have my car fixed and I’ll find some way to repay you as soon as I can, I promise-”

“Wait, you know it was me? I swear I asked that guy to keep it anonymous.” Mettaton shook his head. “I suppose it doesn’t matter too much.”

“Anonymous? Why?”

Mettaton smirked. “I knew that if you knew it was me, you’d feel indebted to me somehow. But I can promise that you needn’t pay me a single thing in return. It was nothing, really, Papyrus.”

Papyrus looked hesitant. “I feel bad not doing anything for you.”

“Well...” Mettaton tapped his fingers against his thigh as he thought. “If you’re really eager to make it up to me- though there’s absolutely no need- you could always accompany me to our usual bench tomorrow. I’m free after 2pm.”

Papyrus tittered. “You know I’d do that anyway.”

“It’s settled, then?”

“Of course!”

Mettaton relaxed back against the headrest. He wouldn’t accept taking money from Papyrus, it wouldn’t be fair. He had absolutely no qualms against paying a little to help get Papyrus’ car put back in shape. Mettaton couldn’t help but blame himself for what happened anyway. At least this way, some of his guilt was being lifted.

“How’s your new amaryllis faring?” Mettaton asked after a few moments, knowing they weren’t far off from their destination already. He didn’t want to stop talking to Papyrus just yet.

“It’s fine!” Papyrus said, too hurriedly to be convincing. “Very fine- if by ‘fine’ you mean kind of dying and looking all sad all the time anyway.”

“It’s wilting? Did you put it out in the garden like I told you to?”

Papyrus squinted. “When did you say that?”

“I sent you a message? After you went home that day, I spoke to the head gardener and sent you a message with how to care for it? Judging by your expression, it never came through.”

“Let me check!” Papyrus said, just reaching the street Naptsablook and Shyren lived on. He pulled up at the side of the road, turned the engine off and slipped his phone out of his pocket. 

“I can always send it again if-”

“I’ve got a message!” Papyrus said at once, but upon opening it, he narrowed his eyes again, “It’s not from you, though.”

“Oh?”

There was a sort of panic that flashed in the hollows of Papyrus’ eyes as he looked at his phone, and seeing it only added to the discomforting feeling Mettaton had as the heat began settling on him once again.

“It’s from someone I used to know at school,” Papyrus said, his eyes skimming over the words on his phone over again, as though trying to make sense of it. “The person I... crashed into the other day, actually.”

“Small world!”

“Incredibly so!” Papyrus cleared his throat. “It reads; ‘Hey Papyrus, we got off on the wrong foot the other day. All the deal with the car and everything really put me in a bad mood- I’m sure you understand. I’ve been thinking since then that maybe we could meet up sometime, to catch up on old times. I’ll buy you a drink to make up for my temper. I’m not sure if you’re single but if you aren’t, feel free to ignore this offer- it’s all cool. But if you are, I’d very much like to take you out. Get back to me soon! Elliot.”

“Oh wow,” Mettaton breathed, clenching his jaw ever-so-slightly. 

“He must have kept my number when I gave him my details for the insurance company...” Papyrus muttered to himself. He frowned back down at his phone. “Does that sound like a date to you?”

“No doubt about it, darling.”

“Who knew, to get a date all you had to do was drive like a madman and crash into someone’s car.” Papyrus’ tone was as upbeat as usual but Mettaton could sense the hesitancy that ran through it. “I used to have a crush on him in school.”

“Aww, sweetheart, that’s adorable,” Mettaton cooed, clasping his hands together to stop them from nervously tapping. “I think you should go for it, then,” he said, smiling with an apparent sanguine earnestness. His smile was just a little too bright when he spoke, and his voice a little too hasty. He sounded like he was speaking to a guest on the television. Perfected, exactly how he knew he should talk to people especially when not wholly genuine.

“I’m not sure I should...” Papyrus said, fiddling with the case on his phone that was peeling away at the sides. 

“Not sure? Why not, darling?”

Just as Mettaton spoke, Papyrus’ eyes darted straight towards him and he instantly knew the reason that was currently running through Papyrus’ mind. It was also the very same reason that was making Mettaton so hesitant about all his words. It was a futile reason, both of them knew, but it was there nevertheless. 

“He didn’t seem to like me in school,” Papyrus said at last, diverting away from the main reason. “Although people can change, I suppose.”

Mettaton nodded. “People change all the time. Maybe he’s grown up to realise how great you really are.”

Papyrus smiled. “You took the words straight from my mouth!”

He eventually decided to ignore the message for the time being. It was too much to think about right at that moment with Mettaton sitting beside him, making him feel as though the whole world was pressuring him to do something he didn’t know the answer to.

Mettaton finally got out of the car, waving ‘toodles’ at him as he strutted down the street to Napstablook’s house. When Papyrus saw him leave his sight, he started the car up again and drove straight back home, forgetting about going to Undyne’s house completely. 

His mind was a world of thought as he drove; though this time he was on high alert, watching his own speed with a close eye. He didn’t know how he could possibly answer Elliot’s message. Mettaton had encouraged him to go for it, though Papyrus knew that was probably in the hopes he’d direct his romantic emotions somewhere other than him. The thought itself was wonderful! But putting it into practice would be much more difficult, Papyrus knew. Would it really be fair to Elliot- going on a date when his emotions are currently stowed away for someone else? Papyrus didn’t know, and he didn’t know whether he ever would. 

When he got home, he checked his messages once again to find Mettaton had resent the text about the amaryllis. He took a note of the instructions diligently, most notably of which was Mettaton’s gardener suggesting he place it outdoors, as it will benefit from all the recent sun they were getting. He also noticed a warning that they didn’t bloom for an entirely long time, and would soon lose its flowers until the following year.

Papyrus thought on this as he took it out into the garden, digging a little hole by his proud and alert sunflowers and burying the roots there. He’d be sad to see the day the amaryllis lost its flowers, but at least if he kept it living long enough, he’d get to see its return one day. That alone was exciting and well worth the wait in Papyrus’ opinion.

Placing it in the garden wasn’t necessary, apparently, he could look after it just as well in a pot by the window, but he saw this as the easiest option. Out of sight, out of mind. Putting distance between himself and the flower would certainly help with his over-watering habits, he told himself, and so he left it there to feast on the sun’s rays and returned to the living room. 

He looked around the silent room with a clear mind. Sans was sleeping upstairs, the television was off for once, the windows were drawn wide to let in the sun and Papyrus could hear absolutely nothing but his own breaths. It felt like there was nothing in the world but Papyrus and himself. 

And his mind was resolute.

Without hesitation, he took his phone from his pocket and replied to Elliot’s text.

“Hi Elliot! I wasn’t expecting a message from you- which is I was a whole hour late in replying. How rude of me! If you wanted to hang out sometime, I’d be honoured-”

Papyrus stopped. ‘Honoured’? Was that too formal? Was he really honoured? In all honesty, he mostly just felt nauseous. He shook his head.

“I’d be ~~honoured~~ happy to join you! I’m free most weekends. Sincerely, your new friend Papyrus!”

Before he had a chance to talk himself out of it, he sent the text, practically throwing the phone back down onto the coffee table as if to shield himself from Elliot’s inevitable reply. 

He used his ever-changing mix of emotions to his advantage this time, harnessing the confusion for his own good. With this method, he could easily tell himself that wretched feeling in his soul was merely excitement. In a perfectly ideal world, it certainly could be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's that? A date? Who'd have thought it? Perhaps this will be the best thing for Papyrus, moving on with his life, directing his emotions at someone else...
> 
> But where does that leave Mettaton?
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! We're really getting into the plotty areas now so stay tuned!


	12. Wicked Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Acting on impulse is what Mettaton does on a daily basis, it's what has gotten him so far- but now it seems to have more dire consequences than he'd ever expect.

Mettaton puckered his lips in his compact mirror as he made his way to the park, thinking about the skeleton who was waiting for him there. He hoped Papyrus hadn’t noticed anything odd about him the last time they’d spoken, just the day before. Mettaton had let his guard slip slightly when Papyrus had mentioned some random guy asking him out on a date. He knew it was foolish of him, what could he do, anyway? Ask Papyrus to stay single for him forever? No, the only option was to wish him good luck with this guy.

Mettaton wondered idly what this guy looked like, and some petty side of his mind made him out to be ugly and sad looking; nowhere near Mettaton’s standards. But then he rolled his eyes at his own obvious jealousy. He had no right to be jealous, after all, he was engaged to another man. When he thought of Papyrus, though, he often liked to think of him as if he were his own. Even just as friends. Sweet, single Papyrus who doted on him and would do absolutely anything for him simply because he loved him.

Mettaton knew it was selfish, and that he should be happy Papyrus was finding a way to move on, but his brain never let things be quite so simple, and so the whole date fiasco was driving him slowly insane. 

_Get yourself together, Mettaton_ he warned, holding his head a little higher as he passed through the park gates. _And if you think about that kiss one more time I’m going to come in there and fight you myself_ he told the Mettaton running his mind, thinking about the kiss regardless.

“Papyrus, darling!” Mettaton called out as soon as he spotted him. The skeleton was holding a bag of bird seed in his hands and, when he heard Mettaton’s call, he turned and waved jovially, nearly spilling all the seeds as he did so.

“Hi Mettaton!!” he returned, quickly bringing his hand back down to regain his grasp on the large plastic bag of bird seed he held. “I thought we could feed the ducks! I’m done with watching these other passersby with envy as they give these birds their seedy nutrients- so today we’re joining them!”

As Mettaton held back the dirty joke that was bubbling at the surface of his mind, he brought his attention to Papyrus’ outfit. “Jeans?” he questioned, “And a t-shirt? Papyrus, this is the most clothes I’ve ever seen you in! Where’s the cute crop top?”

Papyrus’ eyes brightened at Mettaton’s observation. “I’m trying something new! Blending into society with my incredibly normal clothes. Also because, well...” He kicked a rock awkwardly. “I’m stealing Undyne’s clothes as an act of revenge!”

“What?!” Mettaton gasped, laughing in disbelief. 

“She steals my clothes constantly! So for once, I’m repaying the favour. This is war now!” Papyrus nodded grimly. “I just have to clean and iron them neatly before I return them because I think I got a little mud on the bottom of her jeans...”

Mettaton chuckled, revelling in the way Papyrus always found some way to make him laugh, even unintentionally. After talk of Clothes Wars was over, they set off along the well-trodden path around the lake, taking handfuls of birdseed out whenever they saw a duck and, as promised, gifted it with ‘seedy nutrients’. The weather was much less harrowing today, a light breeze was there to keep away the threat of overheating and little clouds littered the skies to protect them from the sun’s scorching rays. 

“You know, Papyrus,” Mettaton spoke up as they walked, “When I saw you dressed so differently, I thought it was due to that date you have coming up.”

“Hmm? Why would I change my clothes for that?” 

Mettaton shrugged. “Maybe you were switching up your style to impress him?”

Papyrus threw a handful of birdseed at a particularly large swan that gulped each seed down like it was ravenous. “Do you think I should?” he said after a moment of silence.

“No no!” Mettaton said, “No, I’m glad that’s not the case actually. You shouldn’t change yourself for anyone else.” He watched as Papyrus threw seeds at the swan, until another rather overfed swan came waddling over, also demanding Papyrus’ attention. Papyrus gave it willingly.

“I’m not entirely sure what to do on dates,” Papyrus said, “You’d think reading the dating handbook from cover to cover would make me a dating extraordinaire but all it does is make me even more confused! Do I be myself or do I be who they want me to be?? I even read all the parts with the gooey bits and I’m still at a loss.”

Mettaton pointedly ignored is last comment and began walking on, encouraging Papyrus to leave the greedy swans alone. “You be yourself, Papyrus,” he told him as he reached his side. “If this Elliot guy doesn’t like you for yourself then, well, he doesn’t deserve you.”

And just like that, the light switched on in Papyrus’ mind. “Oh!” he gasped, “That makes sense.”

“I don’t know what ‘dating handbook’ you’ve been reading, darling, but if it doesn’t say that, chances are, it’s not very good.”

With a quick swipe, Papyrus produced a small book from his back pocket and gave it to Mettaton. He flicked through the pages with mild interest, taking a mental note of how Papyrus had made his own little bookmarks out of paper that he’d doodled his smiling skeleton face onto with the writing ‘REMEMBER THIS!!’ down the side. One of the bookmarks was on ‘always compliment your date’s eyes by the third date’ and another on ‘never leave your date standing for too long, if they complain of tiredness, sweep them off their feet and carry them to wherever they wish to go’ and Mettaton’s personal favourite, ‘leave unpeeled oranges in your date’s handbag for them to find when they get home- they’ll have to ring you to find out why you did it, and from there you can arrange a second date!’. 

Mettaton rolled his eyes and passed the book back to him. “Papyrus, you don’t need some checklist of things to do when you date. Just be yourself! I promise he’ll be head over heels for you in no time.” He stopped himself before he went on a tangent about how easy to love Papyrus was. “You’ll do great!” he simply enthused, patting Papyrus on the shoulder.

“Thank you!” Papyrus replied, “He must like The Great Papyrus, right? That’s why he asked me on a date!”

“Sure sounds like it, sweetheart!”

“And I suppose I am quite charming- even my old friends from school can’t get me out of their heads!”

Mettaton tittered. “If I have only one tip- it’s to not get your hopes up too high. You can be excited all you like but you haven’t even had one date yet. Don’t get too upset if it doesn’t work out right.”

Papyrus wasn’t listening, he was preoccupied by the fact that the two engorged swans from before had left the water and had been following them down the path this whole time, obviously unable to take ‘no more seeds for you’ at face value. Caving, Papyrus gave them two more handfuls before returning to walk by Mettaton. 

“Was you saying something, Mettaton?”

“Nevermind, darling.” Mettaton smiled at him as he shrugged away the conversation, eager to change the subject. “So... I suppose you’ve heard of the new project I’m starting?”

“The gay bar!” Papyrus said at once, “Undyne wouldn’t stop texting me about it all night. She’s very excited to work somewhere full-time.” He beamed. “It was nice of you to offer her a job!”

In reality, Mettaton had only given the job to Undyne as she was the most appropriate person he could think of for the role, but he’d happily let Papyrus think he did it out of the kindness of his heart for now. 

“It’s going to be so wonderful when it’s all done,” Mettaton mused, clasping his hands together, “I’m thinking gaudy neon lights, loud music, alcohol, dancing- and there’s a few up and coming monster artists in the area that need more attention, so obviously, the best way to do this is to let them play their music live here! Who doesn’t love a live performance?”

“Only enemies of fun!”

“That’s absolutely correct!” Mettaton chuckled. “Actually... would you like to see the building it’s going to be in? They’re very very close to finishing it, right now it’s just lacking furniture and some finishing touches... but I could show you? If you want?”

Papyrus lit up, heaving the plastic bag full of birdseed up onto his shoulder. “Or course!” He could see how excited Mettaton was about this, and that bright light that shone behind his eyes was one that Papyrus could never tire of seeing. How could he possibly say no?

He led the way back to his car, swinging the rest of the birdseed into the back before rushing around to open the door for Mettaton. Then they set off, cruising into the middle of town by Mettaton’s direction. Once they got into the high-end section of town, Mettaton pointed out with excited hands the building that was soon to be his to run.

Papyrus pulled up by the side of the road and let Mettaton leap out of the car and practically pull Papyrus through the door.

“Working hard, I hope!” Mettaton called out to a couple of painters who were working on the west wall, turning the boring beige into a much more beguiling deep purple. 

They smiled and waved back at him, quickly getting back to work. 

Mettaton could hardly keep the smile from his face as he looked around. A new project was always exciting. It was something to keep him on his toes, as if he needed it. He pulled Papyrus around, telling him where everything was going to go, the bar, the tables, the stage, the dance floor, _everything_. He was a whirlwind of passion, and his zealous nature was infectious. Papyrus couldn’t help but grow excited too, despite having nothing to do with the project.

“It looks wonderful! You’re very talented to have so many jobs at once!” Papyrus told him, remembering how Undyne had gotten a little annoyed at how Mettaton called this a ‘side project’ as though he’d simply taken up knitting. Opening a bar certainly couldn’t be counted as a little hobby.

Mettaton smirked, leaning against the wall for a lack of available chairs. “Oh, it’s easy!”

“You make it look like it is!”

Now that Mettaton had explained everything, he worried slightly that he was boring Papyrus. That wouldn’t do. Not at all. Mettaton prided himself on many things but being boring certainly wasn’t one of them. Looking around for an idea, it suddenly hit him. He knew exactly what to do.

He called over to the workers once again. “Mind if I put on some music?”

They shrugged. “Sure thing, we were just heading out to lunch anyway.”

Mettaton smiled at them as he took his phone out of his bag. “Well, alright! Have a nice lunch, darlings!”

They returned the polite gesture and shuffled out the door. Mettaton couldn’t help but notice them looking a little intimidated in his presence, which could have been why they crept off so soon. Whatever the reason, he was glad of it. Now he could have a fun time with his friend without anyone listening in.

Mettaton walked over to the dance area, followed by an intrigued Papyrus. “Darling, would you please lean behind that curtain over there and see- there should be a switch, flick it and come back over here,” he ordered as he took a wire out of his bag and threw it to the side. He plugged one end of the wire into a little hole in the side of his waist, just under his charging port. 

When Papyrus had found the switch, all the lights in the room went out and, in their place, neon pink lights that lined top of every wall lit up, warming the room with the colour of shy blushes.

“Wowie...” Papyrus breathed as he looked around, his eyes focusing back on Mettaton, who was plugging the other side of the wire into his phone. “It’s all so... you! It’s Mettaton as a room!”

Without looking up from his phone, Mettaton chuckled. “That was the plan!” He tapped through his music, quickly coming across the playlist of songs he usually played after his gigs. “Check this out,” he said as he pressed play, looking up to watch Papyrus’ face as the song started playing... from Mettaton’s chest.

“Your body!!” Papyrus exclaimed, “I didn’t know it could do that!”

“What kind of entertainment robot would I be if my body didn’t double as speakers?” Mettaton mused, tucking his phone into his pocket, still connected by the wire. “Now get your skeleton behind over here and dance.”

Papyrus did as he was told, moving over to Mettaton on the dancefloor with two very rhythmic hips. As a dance track began playing, he let the atmosphere enrapture him, moving in time with every beat, spinning and shaking like he hadn’t felt so alive in months. Mettaton was shocked to see how quickly he got into it, but didn’t stop to let him out-dance him. He joined the frolic with just as much enthusiasm, letting out a few of his on-stage tricks just to impress him. Then he’d laugh as Papyrus tried to replicate them; watching him jump into a split was probably the best thing Mettaton had seen that month, if not ever. 

“Skeletons really are flexible, huh?” Mettaton laughed, offering him help back up with an extended hand.

Papyrus accepted it, pulling himself up to his feet with a light jump, slightly out of breath as he heard the fast song fade away. “That would be the lack of muscles... and everything else.”

“Well, that makes sense,” Mettaton chuckled, reluctantly letting go of Papyrus’ hand once he was upright. The touch made his hand tingle and despite what his logical brain said, every finger was desperate to intertwine Papyrus’ with his own. But he couldn’t, it wouldn’t have been appropriate in the slightest; and so his attention-starved hand pulled away. 

Just in that moment, however, as though his phone had felt his inner plea to be close to Papyrus once again, the song changed and this time, it wasn’t a dance track. It was slow, gentle and none other than a romantic love song made only to be danced intimately to. The soft guitar notes that started the song swilled through the two’s entire beings like intoxicating wine and, as though they had no other choice, their bodies drew towards each other.

It was an excuse. And one they’d gladly latch onto.

“We probably shouldn’t-” Mettaton whispered as he extended his hand towards Papyrus once more. 

Papyrus shook his head as he took it, pulling Mettaton closer. “No, we really shouldn’t! And yet-”

Mettaton threw his arms around Papyrus’ neck and the skeleton found his own arms winding around Mettaton’s waist, his breath catching as he saw the sincere look in his eyes. No amount of internal scolding could have ever stopped them at that point. It seemed like life itself had given them this opportunity to touch one another and taking it was all too tempting.

“This doesn’t have to be romantic,” Papyrus spoke, barely audible. “We’ve danced before... and that was platonic! Danny was there.”

Mettaton hushed him. Danny’s name pierced through his core like a shard of ice. He longed to erase his name from his mind in that moment. His fiancé felt rather irrelevant to his feelings at that point. 

“Nothing romantic about this at all,” Mettaton repeated back at him, reassuring the both of them. 

_What a wicked game you play, to make me feel this way. What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you,_ the song rang out, the lyrics running straight through their minds as meaningless background noise. 

Mettaton’s eyes were intense as he looked at the skeleton in his arms. He was memorising his every feature; the way his eyes were hollow but full of every expression imaginable, the way his cheekbones glinted in the dim light, making his whole face appear softer, the way his mouth hung ever-so-slightly open, as though he was in constant awe of the robot who held him. He was beautiful, almost glowing with tumultuous emotion. 

_No, I--I don’t wanna fall in love. This world is only gonna break your heart._

Mettaton couldn’t dismiss it any further. That throbbing feeling at the pit of his soul grew stronger and stronger until he could hardly contain it. He was drawn towards Papyrus with every heave of his pulse. It was undeniable. Love. He could push the idea back again and again for the rest of eternity but it always seemed to return to him. And although he couldn’t make Papyrus his own, he could always have this moment.

So he held on and leant his forehead upon Papyrus’, knowing he was probably thinking the same. What Danny didn’t know couldn’t hurt him, right?

After all, Mettaton never chose love over his career. It wasn’t his style, it never had been. And as this thought flooded him, it quickly brought him back to an event that occurred many years prior, all the way back in the underground, when he’d made a promise that he’d never trust anyone with his feelings again...

Countless years earlier: Waterfall, Blook Acres:

Being a ghost had its benefits, Mettaton couldn’t deny that. He could get wherever he wanted much easier by phasing through walls, he could form his ectoplasm into any cute shape he wished (wanted a bow upon his head today? Consider it done), and he could become invisible at any given moment. 

Mettaton wished he was a little less invisible, however. And that’s how he came across the cons of being a ghost. They were forgettable, worthless, barely able to hold an ordinary job, especially in their natural state. They had a very limited future planned out for them, and Maddy had already got their eyes set on one of the very few options available. Being a dummy in the window of a store! How wondrous it sounded to them! Mettaton would only scoff when he heard it. What kind of aspiration was that?

But what other option did they have? Napstablook’s interest in music was always wholly encouraged by Mettaton, the eldest of the group, but they all knew deep down that this encouragement was futile. Who’d ever heard of a ghost DJ? Much less a ghost superstar like Mettaton always had his fantasies play out. It was stupid of him to even dream, he knew this. But sometimes it was hard not to.

“Hey, Happy- tell me, if I were to go away one day- would you look after Napstablook?” Maddy questioned. The words stung, piercing through the ghost’s delicate soul. 

“And why would you do that?” Mettaton (Happstablook as he went by then) asked, aggravated that they’d been posed with such a ridiculous question. 

“Say it’s hypothetical!” they said gruffly, “Look, you don’t expect us all to stick around here forever, do you? I just want to make sure Napstablook is okay if I ever... you know.”

Happstablook frowned, shaking their head. “No, I don’t know! You always said we were going to stick together, forever!” 

“That was a silly childish promise. It doesn’t mean anything now. _Some_ of us around here have dreams.”

This rubbed Mettaton the wrong way. They bristled, turning from their cousin completely. “You call working as a stupid dummy a dream?” they spat out, the anger flowing out of them with every word. “I have dreams too, you know!”

“This again?” Maddy sighed, floating around to see Happstablook’s grumpy expression. “Listen, Happy. It’s best you get rid of those dreams as fast as you can. You’re never going to make it. You _can’t_. You’re just a ghost.”

“Well at least I’m not settling with the only thing I can do and going around acting like I’m happy!” they bit back, “What you have isn’t a dream, it’s stupid! Even Blooky has better aspirations!” their face twisted, obviously trying to hold back bitter tears. “And what? You’re just going to leave Spookstablook with me? You know they’d be distraught.”

“Well... they’re kind of... coming with!” 

These words sank in slowly and Maddy could practically see the little cogs in Happstablook’s head turning. “This isn’t hypothetical at all, is it?” they said at last, the look in their eyes intense enough to pierce.

“We’ve been discussing it for a while... yeah.”

“Do you even know what this will do to Blooky?” 

“That’s why I’m asking if you’ll stay here and look after them! I know they’re your favourite anyway. It’s obvious. You and your precious Blooky can stay here while Spooky and I go elsewhere- maybe the capital, maybe somewhere else! But you don’t really expect me to stick around on this little snail farm, waiting for life to just sweep by, do you?”

Happy had no reply to that. They had a valid point, and one that they themselves had thought about often. They really did long to escape, run off and make it big somewhere that no-one knew their name. But this ruined everything. With those two gone, they’d be stuck looking after Blooky forever. Happy could feel their dreams shattering every second they couldn’t convince Maddy to stay.

And they never did. No argument could change their minds and, one evening, Blooky and Happy found a note on the floor, explaining their departure. Frustrated tears flooded Happstablook’s eyes as they realised their fate, angry that their cousins had been able to put their career first and had been denied the opportunity to do so themselves.

They’d promised to stay by Napstablook’s side forever more on that night, holding them tight as they wept over their cousins’ absence. But deep down, Happy felt cold. And thought bitter thoughts to themselves as they contemplated their future.

“I don’t need people.” They spoke as they tended to the snails the next day, their mind resolute. “Not in a close way. I only need myself because I’m the only person who will get me what I want. Everyone else just leaves and I won’t be the only one being trampled over. If the opportunity comes and I can leave as well, I’m sorry Blooky, but I can’t just let this world run past me as I’m here gathering dust with you.”

~~~

Present day: 

Mettaton reminded himself of this memory as he held Papyrus in his arms. He let it slice a chasm down their middle, separating them once again. He’d indulged in his emotions for too long and, despite enjoying every blissful moment, it went against everything he stood for. He didn’t need love. He needed his career- his career was the one thing he’d dedicated everything to, the one thing he knew would keep him strong when everything else fell away; he couldn’t throw it all in the trash just because his emotions told him to.

“I’m sorry, Papyrus,” he whispered as he pulled away, feeling the skeleton’s grasp reluctantly let go in return. “That was selfish of me. I need to stop leading you on like this.”

Papyrus shook his head adamantly. “No! You’re not leading me on! We were just dancing platonically, I promise! I-” when he saw his words weren’t getting through to Mettaton, he sighed, going back to switch the lights on, ignoring the feeling of his soul being crushed with every step he took. “I only want to be your friend, Mettaton.”

“I know- I’m not blaming you, Papyrus. You can’t help how you feel.” _And neither can I_. “I just don’t want to keep doing this to you. Playing with your feelings- it’s not right! Not when I...” He took a deep breath. “Not when I don’t feel the same way.” He felt as though the word ‘liar’ had been carved across his soul with a blunt knife, left open and gaping for everyone to see.

Papyrus apparently hadn’t seen anything. When he came back, his face was stern but Mettaton just knew he’d screwed up once again. In attempt to make it right, the impulsive side of his brain stepped forward and tried to pull Papyrus into a hug but the skeleton evaded it, wrapping his arms around his own chest, hugging himself. 

“Please,” he begged, “If you don’t want me, stop making it worse!” he let out at last, regretting his words as soon as they came. 

But Mettaton understood and was nothing but apologies. It was like dominoes, one bad decision seemed to trigger more and more until they were nothing but a big messy heap on the floor. He couldn’t quite believe his own foolishness.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he repeated, stressing over how easily he could break this skeleton just from giving in to impulse.

“No, I’m sorry,” Papyrus said after a moment, “You’ve done nothing wrong- I didn’t mean what I said. I’m just being over-dramatic!” He smiled through clenched teeth. “See! I’m perfectly fine!”

Mettaton didn’t believe him but didn’t want to push it. He’d already done enough damage today. Awkwardly, he realised music was still playing from his chest and, upon switching it off, he felt the world revert back to a more amiable shape. He hoped they could just go by and forget what just happened, switch the memory off like a light.

Papyrus hoped so too. He felt beyond embarrassed as he drove Mettaton home, scolding himself for lashing out at him like that. And all because of what? Mettaton had offered him a hug? Papyrus could have slapped himself. 

Upon pulling into Mettaton’s driveway, he gave to robot a simple kind nod as he left the car, giving out polite goodbyes as he made his way towards his house.

If he could turn back time, Papyrus would have changed many things about this evening. But something deep down told him that, if he could indeed reverse time, he’d most likely just live that dance over and over until he couldn’t remember his own name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay!! I'm so excited for the next chapter. A certain someone's gonna be going on a date and aaaa, that's gonna be fun! 
> 
> I hope you liked this! These boys need to stop going to places alone, it's never gonna end up well. Make sure to let me know if you enjoyed!!


	13. Dating: START!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After so many years feeling lonely, unlovable and forgettable, things have finally turned on their head for Papyrus. He's dating his schoolboy crush! What more could he possibly want?

Papyrus arrived at the cinema exactly ten minutes early. He stood with his hands behind his back, chest puffed out, ready, _finally_ ready for this date. He’d been mentally preparing himself all week, telling others that he had no worries at all. Dates were supposed to be fun and he intended to make it so.

He’d woken up early that morning, determined to make this day perfect. If he focused hard enough, he could feel a distinct spark of excitement in the depths of his soul, and so he took hold of that, keeping himself positive. One of the first things he did was water Mettaton’s withering amaryllis, all hopes of getting it back to full health quickly diminishing. Papyrus hadn’t given himself much time to worry about that, however, thinking solely of his date outfit for a good portion of the day and spending the rest poring over his dating handbook, making sure to remember everything.

Stood outside the cinema now, the dating handbook within his grasp, he remembered what Mettaton had said to him. “If this Elliot guy doesn’t like you for yourself then, well, he doesn’t deserve you.” The words echoed in Papyrus’ mind, “I don’t know what ‘dating handbook’ you’ve been reading, darling, but if it doesn’t say that, chances are, it’s not very good.” 

Despite everything his gut was telling him, Papyrus couldn’t help but believe Mettaton’s words. Mettaton knew about making friends and keeping them, and he definitely seemed to know how to make dates go well, judging by his current relationship status. And he’d done all of that without following a single rule? Sighing, Papyrus took the dating handbook and walked over to the nearest bin, taking one last look at it before throwing it in fleetingly.

“Hey, Papyrus!” Elliot’s voice called out, making the skeleton turn to see the bear-monster approaching him, a big toothy smile spread across his face. “Nice outfit!”

Papyrus looked down at himself as though he’d forgotten what he was wearing. “Ah, you noticed!” Papyrus said, shooting his most charming grin towards him, “This is my special date outfit!”

For a moment Elliot was silent, taking in Papyrus’ entire figure, drinking it in with his eyes before nodding pleasantly, “You look great!”

Papyrus let out a breath, rubbing the back of his neck out of a sudden awkwardness he felt. “You look incredible, too!” he returned, gesturing towards the t-shirt he wore depicting a cartoon skeleton doing a rather silly looking dance. 

Elliot chuckled, “I saw it in the store and figured it would work for our date!” 

_Nothing in the dating manual ever mentioned wearing clothes featuring the date’s likeness! This man is beyond the rules!_ Papyrus thought, _How can I ever top that?!_ But then he stopped, reminding himself of the official dating rulebook disposal that happened just moments ago. _No need for rules! We date like wild men!_

They hadn’t decided previously which movie they were going to watch, Elliot suggested just turning up and seeing what was on and, despite Papyrus’ inner struggle with anything that wasn’t organised weeks in advance, he found himself agreeing, not wanting to cause a hassle. 

So when they went inside, Elliot said he’d let Papyrus choose the movie, smiling at him encouragingly as Papyrus looked at a screen that displayed the movies that were playing soon. Having paid zero attention to what movies were popular at the moment except for ones that starred Mettaton, Papyrus felt like he was reading a list in a language he barely understood. And so, not wanting to hold Elliot up for too long as he chose, he picked one with the coolest sounding name, glad that Elliot seemed pleased with his choice also. 

Being a little too early to go in yet, the two sat themselves down in the main area. Nerves seemed to be getting the best of Papyrus as he tapped his feet impatiently, wringing his hands as though he was awaiting terrible news.

He could feel Elliot’s eyes on him as he sat there and, as to make the situation less awkward, Papyrus spoke up. “Boy, this sure is fun!” he said as he smiled strenuously, “Do you come here often?”

Elliot shrugged. “Every now and then, you?”

“Oh no, not often!” Papyrus said, pointedly not looking directly at Elliot as he spoke, “I don’t watch a lot of movies. Only one’s my friend is in because his are particularly good.”

“You’re friends with Mettaton, right?”

“That’s right!”

“Awh man, Mettaton is _awesome_ , I’m jealous you know him!” Elliot enthused, quickly grabbing Papyrus’ attention.

“He’s incredible! He’s just as cool in real life!!” Then he calmed himself, he could go on a tangent about how cool Mettaton is all day long. “Did you see the one where he’s abducted by leg-devouring aliens and when they take his legs he just turns back into his cool box form and saves the world?”

“Um? Of _course_ I saw that! It’s a modern day classic, dude. Fuckin’ spectacular.”

Papyrus faltered slightly at Elliot’s language and quickly held back the urge to thrust a swear jar in his direction. They were adults on and adult date! Swearing could be permitted this one time... supposedly. 

“He’s making a sequel to that, I think,” Papyrus said, suddenly panicking that he was letting out top-secret information.

“Yeah, I’ve heard the rumours,” Elliot replied, relieving Papyrus greatly, “Dunno if it could be as good as the first, though. I’ve never been the same since.”

Papyrus tittered, happy to have someone to discuss Mettaton’s shows with that didn’t actually know the man personally. It was refreshing! Made him feel like he was back in the underground again when he’d enthusiastically tell a bored Sans all of the little details of his favourite shows, wondering what it would be like to know the robot personally.

“Hey, Papyrus?” Elliot asked after a few minutes, his voice a little more tentative. 

“Yes?”

“I just wanna say I’m sorry. I know I wasn’t exactly the nicest kid in school towards you. And the way I spoke to you the other day wasn’t too polite either-”

“Oh, _that_.” Papyrus shook his head. “I’d already forgotten! No need for apologies!” Though his thoughts were betraying his words, shaking him slightly as he felt the memories of his childhood that he’d stuffed away out of shame begin to show themselves, but now he could address them easier. _Elliot has apologised, that’s why!_ he told them, hoping that would take the memories away for good.

“Truth is, I think you’re pretty cool!” Elliot said, giving him that same wide grin that was quickly becoming Papyrus’ favourite.

~~~

They spoke for only a few minutes longer before they had to head in to catch the start of the movie. It was around twenty minutes in that Papyrus realised that it was actually a rom-com and he felt his cheeks flare, wondering if Elliot had known this all along. He wasn’t particularly paying attention to the plot anyway, it was hard to when he kept finding his eyes taking sly glances at the man beside him, every look giving him memories of his school days.

He remembered how he’d think his eyes always looked as though they were thinking of something very deep and profound, his heavy brow making him come across more serious than he actually was. He still had that, Papyrus noted, delighting in the way his eyes were trained on the screen ahead as though it were the most important piece of cinema he’d ever seen. 

Looking over him now, Papyrus couldn’t help but notice how much he’d grown. The last time he’d seen him was as a teenager, although now he seemed to be double the size of what he was then, a great mass of dark brown fur with light specks covered him from head to toe, making him look closer to a teddy bear than the animal. Papyrus always found that cute about him. 

He used to imagine what it would be like to hug him, being all fuzzy like that. He’d deemed a long time ago that Elliot must be the top-most huggable monster in the underground, and a half of him still agreed, the other half remembered what it had been like to hug Mettaton and contested that. In any case, Elliot was certainly wooing Papyrus in that moment, and he wasn’t even saying anything.

It wasn’t all based on appearance however, Papyrus remembered. Elliot was always so confident and popular. He’d always know exactly what to say to make everyone like him, something Papyrus often struggled with. And so Papyrus always admired him in a way, wishing he could be just as cool and charming as him. And, _wowie!_ did he try.

For the sake of the date, Papyrus decided to forget all the snubbing and ignoring Elliot did as a child, none of that mattered now. He’d apologised and Papyrus forgave him whole-heartedly-- there’s no need to dwell on past mistakes!

They continued watching and Papyrus eventually found himself growing more comfortable in Elliot’s company. Every now and then, the bear would lean in and make some silly remark about the characters, or he’d just gasp and tut at the very obvious plot holes, making Papyrus have to stifle a laugh. Despite the crappy plot and basic characters, however, around two-thirds in, a rather emotional scene played that featured the characters, after being separated from their true love for over five years, finally reunited with a flurry of kisses and proclamations of love. 

Elliot went quiet then, obviously unable to pick fault at such a heart-wrenching scene. Instead, he lay out his hand, upturned on the armrest to his side. Papyrus at first wondered what he was doing, laying his hand out in such a way didn’t seem comfortable at all, and not particularly natural, until he realised that he intended Papyrus take it. Tentatively, in case he’d read the signs wrong, he placed his own gloved hand in Elliot’s, gripping loosely for fear of rejection. 

But he hadn’t been wrong, and Elliot quickly grasped his hand in return, squeezing it in his fingers, encouraging Papyrus to squeeze in return. Just that small ounce of affection was enough to make Papyrus flustered, his head going a little light as he tried to return his attention to the screen ahead. Hardly any of the plot was going in now, and when the ending came he felt it was all a little too soon. He was enjoying the simple pleasantness that hand-holding contained and now he had to let go and leave, returning back to the real world. 

Happily, Papyrus found that Elliot still seemed interested in him when they walked back out onto the street again, and so he let his worries drift back to where they came from once again (somewhere deep in the back of his mind that he liked to shut away with a sturdy padlock).

“So, did you walk here?” Elliot questioned as they stood outside the cinema, “I don’t see your car out here... unless it’s still needing repairs?”

Papyrus shook his head. “No, I’m getting it back all fixed up tomorrow, actually! I could have taken the bus but... I just felt like walking today-- feeling the sun on my skin, the wind through my hair!” He stopped and thought for a moment, “Did you walk?”

Elliot, after he stopped chuckling at Papyrus’ insinuation that he had either hair or skin, shrugged, “Yeah, my car’s still fucked. I drove it home that day but _apparently_ I shouldn’t have because that could have been incredibly dangerous or some shit... but hey! I’ll be getting it fixed soon... hopefully.”

“Ah... I’m incredibly sorry about that! I’ve been very ashamed of myself-”

“Hey, it’s whatever. Mistakes happen, I don’t wanna hear about it anymore.” Elliot wafted the subject away with his hands. “Want me to walk you home?”

Papyrus leapt at the offer. “Yes! I mean, if that’s what you want- then I’d love to- be walked home-- by you!” he said, tripping over his word at every interval. 

“I’d take you for dinner but I have some things I’ve gotta take care of. I hope you don’t mind,” Elliot said as they started making their way down the road.

“Not at all! This was nice.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Although I was expecting that movie to be better than it was...”

“No! It was perfect!” Papyrus said, despite having missed half the movie from being inside his own head. 

Elliot smiled that toothy smile, making Papyrus practically wither with ever-growing affection beside him. 

“So, do you always dress like that?” he asked, gesturing towards Papyrus’ clothes; the typical crop top and shorts, the former of which had “date boy” written crudely across the front.

“Yes! The bolder the clothes the more people notice you!” Papyrus explained.

“True. You’ve got to have a lot of confidence for that kind of thinking, though.” Elliot kicked a stone in his path. “It’s good you have that, a lot of people don’t.” 

“That’s Papyrus for you! He eats confidence for breakfast!”

Elliot chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re, um, pretty cute, you know that?”

The statement stopped Papyrus in his tracks for a moment, looking at Elliot like he’d just told him he wanted to marry him. “Say... you’re not in a relationship or engaged or anything like that, are you?”

“...No, why?”

“Just checking!”

~~~

The walk to Papyrus’ house was shorter than he would have wished. He was thoroughly enjoying his talk with Elliot. For the first time in what seemed like aeons, Papyrus had successfully distracted himself from thinking about Mettaton. Elliot was here, giving him everything Mettaton never could. It would surely help his feelings towards him, probably, _hopefully_. But Papyrus didn’t want to get ahead of himself. Even if he wanted to fling himself into Elliot’s arms and have his ‘happily ever after’ right there and then, he couldn’t. And so he took a deep breath and took this step by step, knowing he’d have to be patient to succeed here.

He’d waited for years for this, after all, he could wait a little longer. What he was waiting for, he wasn’t sure, but he could feel it bubbling on the edge of his soul, just begging to happen.

Elliot walked him all the way up to his door. He scratched his fluffy ears nervously, looking at Papyrus with a small smile.

It took only a couple of seconds for Papyrus to catch on, noticing the way Elliot’s eyes lingered on his teeth. Those beautiful dark eyes that Papyrus loved so much. Papyrus could barely help himself as he placed a hand either side of Elliot’s face and leant in, kissing him gently, mouths only just touching as though kissing any harder would be lewd. He didn’t want to spoil the moment. In fact, he wanted to take this moment and bottle it, keeping it forever.

As quickly as the kiss was initiated, it was over again. Papyrus pulled away and looked Elliot in the eye once again, his cheeks red enough to make a tomato jealous. 

“Well, I’ll be uh-” Papyrus pointed at the door, “You better get back- you said you had things to do?”

“Right, yeah... It’s a shame, I wanted to spend more time with you,” Elliot said, nodding, “See you around, Papyrus!”

“Sure thing! Anytime! Call me whenever!” 

And with that, Elliot left, walking around the corner of the street with a pleasant wave over his shoulder. 

Papyrus melted against the door, unable to let himself inside just yet. _Was it? Could it be? Were things finally looking up?_

~~~

“DUDE, how did the date go?” Undyne’s voice yelled down the phone. Papyrus had just finished retelling the story to Sans when she rang, but he’d happily go over it all again. And he did, going over every detail, how Elliot looked, the things he said, how he smelt, how he smiled and the fact that they’d _kissed!_ Just being able to say that made Papyrus’ soul want to burst out of his chest. Undyne met him with the same enthusiasm, purely happy for him. Papyrus deserved the world, but Elliot would have to do for now, she determined.

Not long later, Mettaton rang, having heard news of a successful date, and having a little news of his own.

“So, the date! How did it go?” he enquired, his voice upbeat.

“Oh! It went okay.”

“Just okay?”

Papyrus leant back into the sofa he was sat on. “You know, as well as dates can go. Anyway- you mentioned having news!”

“Right! News!” Mettaton cleared his throat. “Guess what- the bar is officially opening next week!”

“That’s incredible, Mettaton!”

“And I’m inviting you to the opening night! You and, the rest of the guys, of course. Undyne will be working but I’m sure that will just serve to keep her out of trouble... Are you up for it, darling?”

“Yes! I wouldn’t miss that for the world!” Papyrus enthused. 

“Wonderful! It wouldn’t be right without my favourite skeleton there,” Mettaton mused, gasping suddenly, “Oh, sweetie, I’ve gotta run- I have a meeting in five. I’ll catch you later.”

“Okay, Mettaton!” Papyrus chimed before Mettaton abruptly hung up, leaving him with his glowing heart alone. 

_Everything would be much simpler now!_ he told himself, taking a deep breath, releasing it with a heavy sigh. _Things are looking up for Papyrus!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you feel worried about the direction of this fic-- just remember that this IS a papyton fic. So you'll have to stay tuned ;D
> 
> Thank you for reading and commenting and kudosing, you guys are the best! ^^


	14. The Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exhaustion, new beginnings and yet more dancing. What could possibly go wrong?

“so tell me again when we’re gettin’ paid for this.”

Papyrus and Sans stood in the town centre, side by side like two spectres of skeletal death had sauntered in with their ever-present grins and menacing gazes, trying to hand out gay bar leaflets to anyone who dared venture close enough.

“We’re not getting paid,” Papyrus reminded him for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning, “We’re doing this as a favour. I promised I’d help Mettaton out with promoting the grand opening his new bar and so that is what we’re doing.”

“hey hey, i promised mettaton _nothin’_ ,” Sans whined, “it’s really hot out here.”

Papyrus rolled his eyes, scoffing. “We don’t have skin, how can you be hot?”

“look at me, i’m sweating.”

“That’s gross. And also impossible. Sans, skeletons can’t get hot. That’s not a thing we can do.” Papyrus regarded the short skeleton by him, his sweaty palms were getting the leaflets he clutched in his hand wet, the colour warping. 

“if skeletons can’t get hot then why am i sweatin’?” Sans used the sleeve of his hoodie to wipe the sweat off of his forehead. 

Papyrus grimaced and then it dawned on him. “Perhaps it’s physical exertion? You’ve been standing for a whole five minutes! Embrace the sweat, Sans, it means you’re getting stronger by the second!”

“feels like i’m dyin’.”

“That means it’s working!”

After around twenty more minutes of being rudely avoided by every human in town, Undyne jogged by and bolted over as soon as she spotted to two skeletons.

“He’s got you two on leaflet duty too, huh?” she asked, waving her own stack of leaflets in their faces. “I wouldn’t normally let that guy tell me what to do but seen as he is _technically_ my boss now, I ought to get on his good side.” She looked through her pile, “I haven’t given many out yet, though. People give me one look and then run in the opposite direction.” She guffawed, “Guess that means I’ll make a good security guard!”

Papyrus’ eyes narrowed in concern. “I’ve only given out five so far. What about you, Sans?”

“...six,” he wheezed, doubling over with his hands on his knees, the sun beating down on the back of his skull.

“What’s up with him?” Undyne questioned, bopping the top of his skull with her index finger.

“Apparently standing up is too much of a workout for Sans.” He looked at his brother, not sure what to do with him. “Do you- do you need to sit down?”

“i’m good,” he choked out, gripping his knees with an intensity not used by anyone who is just ‘good’.

Undyne’s visible eye widened slightly. “Dude, I need to get you trained up some time. Come with us on one of our sessions some time! I’ll get you ripped in a heartbeat. You’ll have muscles coming out of your ass.”

“THAT’S HORRENDOUS. PLEASE NEVER SAY THAT AGAIN.”

Sans just swayed on his feet slightly, a small chuckle tickling his ribs at his brother’s disgust. 

“Wow, we should probably give this a rest for a bit. I can’t stand looking at your brother like this. It’s like looking at a wounded animal. Should probably put him out of his misery,” Undyne said, looking at Sans like he could keel over and die at any moment. “You guys wanna go get smoothies? I know a good place.”

As much as Papyrus didn’t want to walk away from the favour he was doing for Mettaton, he couldn’t help but agree. They weren’t getting very far with this and his brother looked like he’d rather be thrown in a shark-riddled pit than stand here and give out flyers any longer. 

So they followed Undyne into a wonderfully air-conditioned building and ordered smoothies, positioning themselves at a table by the window; Papyrus liked to watch the people walk by. 

“So, had any more dates with you-know-who?” Undyne prodded, “Banged yet?”

Sans choked on the smoothie he was chugging, having to cover his mouth to stop it from spewing out. “i don’t need to know that.”

Papyrus felt his cheeks burn at the invasive question. “No to both,” he admitted, not catching her eye, “I don’t sleep with people on the first date, Undyne, I have higher standards than that.”

“So second date, then?”

“ _Undyne._ ” Papyrus groaned, “Of course not.” he added for Sans’ sake. He lowered his head into his hands, looking out of the window dreamily like he’d seen people do in movies. “I hope he can make it to the grand opening.”

“Hell yeah, it’s gonna be awesome! I’ve seen some of the bands Mettaton has hired to perform on the night- _Screaming Salamanders are gonna be there!_ If you wanna make a good impression on the guy, that’s gonna do it.”

Papyrus nodded like he knew exactly who ‘Screaming Salamanders’ were, just hoping he could spend more time with Elliot. Maybe the next time they see each other could be the time they both fall in love, _maybe Elliot is already in love!_ Papyrus sighed happily at the self-indulgent thought and then snapped out of it, reminding himself not to get carried away. They’d only had one date after all.

“tell us a little more about him,” Sans said, “what does he do for fun?”

Papyrus’ eyes gleamed a little. “He likes Mettaton’s shows!”

“a match made in heaven,” Sans chuckled, rolling his eyes. “i’m just glad to see you happy again, bro. you’ve been so down lately. thought you’d never snap out of it.” 

Undyne nodded. “Yeah, freaked me out for a while there. I’ve never met this Elliot guy but I already like him for cheering your miserable face back up.” She prodded his shoulder prompting that bright smile she loved to appear on his face. 

“I’m just happy that this is finally happening,” Papyrus said, “At last! Dating! It’s exciting.”

Just in that moment, as if the universe was listening in on their conversation and decided it needed to throw a little complication into the mix, the click-clack of Mettaton’s signature heels sounded as he crashed through the door, looking at the three of them with an upturned eyebrow.

“So this is how you hand out flyers?” he questioned, looking at their smoothies like they were damning evidence in a crime-scene. “What’s it been, like, half an hour since I sent you out?” He was looking at Undyne mainly, arms crossed, sneer painted upon his perfect lips. 

She sputtered, obviously holding back insults and arguments. But she couldn’t get angry, not this time, she was more professional than that. More mature. “Dude, Sans nearly died.”

“hey, don’t bring me into this.”

“Had to get the guy an emergency smoothie, ya know? To, uh, revive him and shit,” she explained, feeling Mettaton’s unimpressed gaze burn a hole through her skull. 

“Uh-huh?”

“Yeah!”

“Darling, there’s one thing you have to know about me if you’re going to be working for me.” He leant closer, bending over her seated position until face to face, eyes burning, top lip pulled up into a scowl. Papyrus looked between them in horror, sure that this could only end in fire and devastation. Mettaton whispered. “I’m pulling your leg, darling.”

Everyone around the table let out relieved breath and Papyrus tittered, glad Mettaton was playing nice. Well, kind of.

“I do want those leaflets out by the end of the day, though, dying skeletons or not. I want as many people there as possible. Opening night is going to be _spectacular_.” Mettaton scanned the table and smiled at the two skeletons on the other side, eyes lingering on Papyrus slightly. “I don’t think I’ve had formally had the pleasure,” he said, extending a hand to Sans, “Papyrus talks about you all the time.”

Sans nodded, shaking his hand politely, “talks about you, too. hey, hey- i’ve been waiting for this chance for weeks, check this out--”

“Sans, what are you doing?” Papyrus interjected, who was thoroughly ignored.

“okay so- you’re a robot, right?”

Mettaton looked at him, deadpan, one eyebrow quirked questioningly. “Yes...”

“that’s funny as heck ‘cause you also used to like, be a ghost on a snail farm, right?”

 _”Oh my God, Sans_ you can’t just bring that up! He told his friends that in confidence!” Papyrus yelled in an attempt to drown Sans’ words out. 

It didn’t work. “well, don’t that make you a _trans-farmer?_ ” 

Undyne was in hysterics immediately. “Dude, that’s your best one yet.” She high-fived the grinning skeleton, laughing even harder when she saw the unamused expressions on both Mettaton and Papyrus’ faces.

“Well that was awful,” Mettaton said, causing Undyne to laugh harder, “I was actually looking through some old files the other day and realised that you were one of the comedians I used to hire at the resort and _was_ considering having you perform at the bar one time but, ah-” Mettaton pursed his lips, “Maybe not.”

Sans laughed then, leaning back in his chair as he did so. “i’ve got more where that came from-”

 _”And on that note”_ Mettaton said, grinning despite himself, “I really must get going. It’s a busy day-- Undyne I want those flyers out stat. Boys, thank you for lending a hand- it was... nice to finally get to meet The Great Papyrus’ brother.” Mettaton began to turn on his heel before he stopped himself, “You can make it to the opening, right?” he asked, looking mainly at Papyrus.

The tall skeleton nodded enthusiastically. “Of course!”

“Will you be bringing your boyfriend?”

Papyrus’ enthusiasm got caught in his throat, dying before he could answer. “Oh! He’s not my boyfriend,” he pointed out, “Not officially. We’ve only had one date.”

“My mistake, darling.”

“And I’m not sure... He doesn’t know if he can get that day off work yet.” Papyrus shrugged, shrinking slightly under Mettaton’s gaze.

Their eyes met for a moment and then broke away as Mettaton smiled at the rest of them. “Well I hope to see you all there. It’s going to be phenomenal.”

~~~

The days dragged on rather gruellingly up to the big night. Papyrus’ work with Frisk had become a little more arduous as of late as an anti-monster group had started up in a town not too far off. They seemed rather unviolent for the most part, only striking out against monsters with their words, but dealing with them was a sticky situation. Frisk’s first plan of action was to just introduce them to Papyrus and then surely they couldn’t have any further qualms about monsters integrating into society; Papyrus had that kind of effect on people. But they didn’t want to just throw Papyrus into the fray of an unpredictable human group that wanted his kind gone-- who knew what could happen? At least their numbers were few, and the amount of groups like that had dwindled over the past few months. Most of the monsters thanked their favourite robotic star for that; he hadn’t convinced everyone’s mind but he’d surely made monsters easier for people to accept. If this handsome, charismatic and kind man everyone saw so often from the comfort of their own homes, on their own television screens, singing in their own headphones, was a monster, then surely they couldn’t be that bad. 

Papyrus put all of that to the back of his mind for the moment, no need to think about work on a day like this! He had very important matters to attend to-- like spending time with his friends!

They all stood, congregated around the newly restored building. Mettaton stood by the door with a pair of scissors in his hand, ready to cut the ribbon and announce the grand opening of the overworld’s first MTT-brand gay bar. He’d previously ditched the crass name he’d chosen, “Nuts and Bolts”, after Papyrus told him how much Sans liked it, following it with a pun ‘heh, what does a robot do after a one night stand?’. Now it had a more recognisable name, and the pink neon sign above Mettaton’s head read out ‘The MTT Bar and Nightclub’. _It’s multipurpose, darling!_ In the day it would hold a more relaxed vibe, serving as a casual bar for those with a little more reserved tastes-- _gay monsters might need more spaces to enjoy than just nightclubs!_ And then at night it would transform, the tables pushed back and a big dancefloor would take up the majority of the room, full of pounding music, darker lighting and live performances by monsters from all over the country.

Mettaton deemed it an exciting new section to his already busy lifestyle; new things always made his soul buzz and this wasn’t any different. With a flourish, he cut the ribbon and let the applause from the others seep in, knowing tonight would surely set his new little business off with a bang. 

The atmosphere was lively as soon as it all began and the workers behind the bar were quickly put to use. A few familiar faces were there for Papyrus to see, monsters from the Underground that he’d seen but never caught their name. A number Hotland guards were there, the most recognisable were the two bouncers out front who’d remained loyal to Undyne even after the dissolution of the Royal Guard. It was nice seeing so many monsters given work, and surely well-paid work, too.

“Feels almost... homely, doesn’t it?” 

Papyrus turned to see Mettaton beaming at him, the pride he had for himself brimming at the surface. 

“There’s so many monsters working here!” Papyrus said, “I don’t see Undyne, though. Which is... suspicious.”

Mettaton let out a high-pitch laugh, swivelling Papyrus’ shoulders around to the corner to where Undyne surely was, watching the crowd from the corner, seeming rather stoic in her expression. 

“Seems to be doing her job so far... but don’t worry, darling, I have my eye on her.” He winked, making Papyrus titter in return. “No Elliot?”

Papyrus regarded him cautiously and shook his head. _Why was he always so incessant on bringing him up?_ “Unfortunately, he couldn’t make it! Busy with work...”

“Ah, I see,” Mettaton said, his eyes hiding an emotion Papyrus couldn’t quite work out, “I wouldn’t worry too much about that, though. You’ll have more time to spend with him in the future. Tonight is for friends, sweetheart.”

Papyrus scanned the room quickly, Sans was by the bar, chatting with a cat monster who was serving him, Undyne was sneakily leaning down to whisper things to Alphys instead of working and on the other side of the room, Shyren and Mettaton’s cousin were hidden away in the corner, attempting to escape social interaction at all costs. 

“Danny isn’t here!” Papyrus said, looking back to Mettaton by his side, “Busy with work too?”

“Mm-hmm, yes... Couldn’t make my grand opening because of... _something_.” Mettaton sneered. “Probably for the best, we don’t want a repeat of last time, do we?”

Memories of the last time their group had spent time with Danny flashed before his eyes. Arguments, accusations and... well, it all ended in Mettaton having to come around and apologise for his behaviour-- and then memories of that kiss flooded his mind like it always did. But he pushed it back and smiled awkwardly at Mettaton. _Yes, it’s definitely for the best that we don’t repeat all of that_.

“Okay, darling, I’m going to rush off and see if everyone’s having a good time-- will you be alright?” 

Papyrus puffed out his chest, hands on hips. “Of course!” And so, Papyrus was left to his own devices. For a moment, he considered joining Undyne and Alphys but then decided that Undyne didn’t need any more distractions from the job she was supposed to be doing. And then he thought of joining his brother at his comfortable place at the bar, looking like he had no intention of moving anytime soon, but then lights dimmed further and music rose, filling Papyrus with a sudden rush of adrenalin. He was here, with friends, with himself feeling a little more _normal_ for once. It had never felt so good to just be Papyrus!

Instead of seeking out the company of his friends, he ventured out onto the dance floor, into the heaving mass of bodies that twisted and swayed to the music. There were a few humans dotted around here and there but for the most part, the room was filled with monsters, claiming their favourite robot’s new bar as their own. A place on the surface where they could be safe to just be themselves. The atmosphere was heavy as Papyrus found himself falling into the throng, dancing to the music without a care in the world. Every now and then, Papyrus would find his eyes searching for Mettaton, where he’d got to now. Social butterfly that he was, Mettaton would be with a new group of people every time Papyrus looked, big smile gleaming smile on his face, making anyone else who had the pleasure of his company smile in return. 

“Dude, the band’s setting up soon! It’s gonna be _awesome_!” Undyne’s undeniable voice spoke behind Papyrus, startling him. “And apparently Mettaton has hired a drag act to perform afterwards-- _monster drag_. I don’t even know how that works but it’s gotta be good.” 

“Aren’t you meant to be working? Watching people sternly? Making sure no mischief is taking place?” Papyrus questioned, regarding her sceptically.

Undyne guffawed. “Oh my God! You’re too much of a worrywart--”

“--Am not!”

“Mettaton doesn’t mind. Look- if anyone starts any trouble, I’ll be the first to know about it, believe me. But everyone’s getting along fine.” 

Papyrus’ gaze remained stern and so she sighed, rolling her visible eye dramatically. 

“Fine, but how about you and me go to the bar so I can ‘survey the area’ from there?”

Knowing there was no persuading to be done when it came to Undyne, Papyrus gave in and followed her to the bar, finding that his brother was still there along with a slightly tipsy Alphys.

“H-hey, Undyne! And Papyrus! Sans was just-- was just telling me about you,” she said, patting the barstool next to her for Undyne and Papyrus to sit. She leant around her girlfriend to look at Papyrus, “He said you’ve been dating someone y-you used to know in school. An old school crush! Th-that’s so romantic!!” she squealed, obviously wanting Papyrus to tell her every detail. “Undyne told me you had your first date but not that y-you used to know him! It’s like... fate! O-or something!”

“I guess it does seem that way!” Papyrus admitted, “I wish you guys could have met him.”

Undyne pat him roughly on the back, sending him flying forwards. “We’ll meet the guy soon! I’m going to look him up on the internet- what’s his name again?”

“Elliot--”

“--So this is where the gang is all hiding, hmm?” Warm tones chiming from none other than the night’s host rang out, causing them all to turn towards the robot behind them. “By all the alcohol, I should have guessed.” 

They laughed as Mettaton embraced Alphys, squeezing her tight in the stead of a greeting. 

“How’s everyone doing? Enjoying the night?” Several nods of agreement followed. “Good! That’s _wonderful_.” He looked up and over to the other side of the bar where a cat monster was taking someone’s order, sullenly pouring them a drink. “Burgerpants, sweetheart- what did I tell you about service with a smile?”

The cat monster, Burgerpants, immediately brightened his face, a forced smile pulled too taught across his cheeks. 

“Much better! Now, how are you liking your new job?”

“I love it, sir! I’m having a sparktacular day!!” he said, pain squirming in his eyes.

Undyne looked at him with silent horror, only hoping that she wouldn’t suffer the same fate as this poor soul. “Jesus, what did you do to that guy?”

Mettaton looked at her dumbfounded. “I gave him a job, darling. And that’s ‘sir’ or ‘boss’ to you during work hours.”

She scoffed. “Oh come on, you can’t be serious...” Thoughts of all the money she was earning working here flashed before her eyes. “...sir.” 

“Much better,” he hummed. 

As they spoke at the bar, the band set up and started, prompting many to get up and dance. True to their name, ‘Screaming Salamanders’ were a group of amphibious looking female monsters who played music loud enough to make everyone’s bones shake. Undyne left under her boss’s instruction to go and do her job and Mettaton jumped into her seat, telling the others about a new car he’d bought, having to speak up to be heard over the band.

“Oh, it’s _gorgeous_. Lamborghini, hot pink, just begging to be driven,” he mused, “It’s a shame I can’t drive it just yet. I’ve been thinking about lessons but...” He sighed, letting his head fall into his hand, “I don’t like the thought of someone telling me what to do. And imagine if they tell me I’m doing it _wrong_! I refuse to do anything that I can’t master straight away-- and, luckily for me, that doesn’t seem to be a problem most of the time, I’m naturally talented at most things. But this driving thing seems all a little... confusing.”

“I can drive!” Papyrus said, patting Mettaton’s shoulder like the fact was supposed to be comforting.

“Congratulations,” Mettaton said in return, somewhat bitter.

Papyrus’ eyes widened for a second before he realised how he’d come across. “Wait! I didn’t mean-” He rolled his eyes, “I meant, I can drive, so I could teach you. If you wanted. It’s the least I can do after everything.”

Mettaton stopped for a moment, contemplating this. Papyrus teaching him would surely be more pleasant than some stranger. He’d be less embarrassed if he wasn’t automatically perfect around Papyrus and, the more he thought about it, the more he realised he wouldn’t mind all that much if Papyrus told him he was wrong. In fact, even the thought of being scolded by Papyrus wasn’t too terrible...

“You’d do that? Give me lessons?” Mettaton inquired, a rare of hint appreciation in his voice. 

Papyrus smiled, warm and earnest. “Of course! Anything for a friend.”

~~~

Mettaton was soon pulled away from the group by a few other monsters, requesting he join them on the dance floor and, being the people pleaser he was, he couldn’t let them down. If people wanted to see him dance, then he’d dance! After building up the courage, Papyrus joined him and, a while after that, so did Alphys and Napstablook once Mettaton gestured for them to come over, rather demandingly. The atmosphere was easy to lose yourself in, making even the shyest of people break out of their shells and enjoy themselves. The band’s songs had infectious beats and rhythms, keeping every body in the place moving. Even Undyne, who was dutifully watching over the crowd let her shoulders bop with every chord. Despite often finding his eyes on him, Papyrus noted that this wasn’t like the other times he’d danced with Mettaton. It was slow and subdued, no longing glances, heavy touches. In fact, there was very little intimate about it at all. They were all friends here, enjoying the night the way friends were supposed to. The thought was freeing, like a breath of fresh air on a cool day. 

More songs came and passed, and just as the crowd was beginning to tire from dancing, Mettaton waltzed onto the stage to introduce the next performance.

“Wasn’t that absolutely fabulous, darlings?” Mettaton asked, receiving a cheer in return. Despite all of the dancing he’d just partaken in, there was very little sign of exhaustion in the robot, only the slight flush in his cheeks that only made him appear more radiant. “Now, the next act isn’t a band but they’re just as entertaining, I promise, beauties.” The door opened at the back of the room and in stepped another monster, catching Mettaton’s brief attention before brining it back to the crowd. “Ladies, gentlemen and everyone in between, please put your hands together to invite on stage the world’s first monster drag act!” He looked back up at the monster who’d just arrived out of sheer curiosity, _just in time for the second performance of the night_ , he thought before his train of thought was cut abruptly short. “Maddy?” 

A few heads in the crowd turned to the new arrival as he spoke and Mettaton felt a creep of embarrassment crawl up his spine and nip at his already flushed cheeks. He let himself off the stage without another word, letting the performance begin as he cut through the crowd. _That couldn’t be them, could it? Weren’t they inhabiting a dummy nowadays?_ That’s what Blooky had said. Mettaton hadn’t spoken to them since... Since they left Blook acres all those years ago. But here they were looking like they always had, a ghost with spiked edges and a mean expression. _Oh God, what are they doing here?_ It was too late to find a window to jump out of and escape now, Mettaton had been spotted and so, he soon found himself by his unexpected cousin’s side, completely speechless.

Blooky was there in an instant, too, their curiosity fully peaked when they heard Maddy’s name on Mettaton’s lips. They all stood in one corner of the room, away from prying eyes, Mettaton dreading what their cousin had to say.

“I don’t want to talk right now,” was all they said.

Mettaton’s stomach flipped. “Then why’re you here? After all this time?”

“No, you don’t get to guilt trip me. We’ll talk about this, just _not now_ ,” Maddy continued, “I heard about the bar and figured it was the only way I could find you. So here-” They pushed a small slip of paper into Mettaton’s hand, “Call me tomorrow when you’re free.”

They left as quickly as they came and Mettaton was left staring up at his friendlier cousin with a look of terror in his eyes. 

“What the hell was that all about?”

Blooky just shrugged, their voice stolen by nerves. 

Mettaton shook his head, removing the uncomfortable feeling from his mind as he tucked the slip of paper (that, upon looking, had his cousin’s phone number scrawled across the middle) into his pocket. “Let’s not think about it,” he said, “This is my night. Forget about it, darling,” Mettaton added when he saw the look of fear in his dear cousin’s eyes, “I’ll take care of whatever this is.”

“Are you two okay? Looks like you just saw a ghost!” Papyrus chimed behind them, apparently he’d strayed away from the crowd too when he noticed them missing, concerned. “That was probably insensitive, wasn’t it? Oh my God, I’ve just insulted your entire kind, I’m a terrible person-”

“Papyrus it’s fine, don’t worry,” Mettaton assured him patting his shoulder. “You weren’t wrong, actually.”

Papyrus gave them a puzzled look which Mettaton merely shrugged away. 

“I’ll tell you later. Now, let’s enjoy this performance, hmm?”

Papyrus accepted, though reluctantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, an unexpected encounter with a ghost from the past-- whatever could it mean? I guess you'll just have to stay put and wait for the next chapter!
> 
> Think of this chapter as the calm before the storm...
> 
> Thank you all for reading!!! I appreciate each and every one of you <3!!


	15. The Storm: Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's hard making up with family when no one's ready to let go of the past. All Mettaton wants to do is forget about it all entirely...

Mettaton would never admit he was scared to anyone in the world but, by God, he was.

The little piece of paper was held so delicately between his fingers, as though he didn’t really want to touch it. If he could feel it, then he knew it was real and he couldn’t have that.

As he sat on his bed, phone in one hand, paper in the other, he found himself unable to make another move. Reuniting with Blooky had taken so much strength from him, he’d never known whether his cousin would accept him again, or whether they’d even want to see him. But he’d done it, he’d pushed through his fear and met up with his long lost cousin and had been making it up to them ever since. Now he had to do it all again, with family members he was on even worse terms with.

Madstablook and Spookstablook had left Blook Acres together, many years before Mettaton ran off in the direction of fame. They claimed to have no choice, that Mettaton and Napstablook’s dreams were delusional and they’d never get anywhere in life if they kept by their side. 

But they left in the knowledge that Mettaton would look after Napstablook no matter what happened. This made Mettaton worry more than anything. The last thing he needed was someone dredging up that old guilt after he’d successfully buried it.

The only reason he was forcing himself to go through with this is because Napstablook was aware that it had happened. If they hadn’t been there, he’d be tempted to ball the little paper up with Maddy’s number on it and throw it in the trash. As he couldn’t get away with that now, he sighed and tapped the little number into his phone.

He listened anxiously to the dial tone, hoping it would go to voicemail so he could make this a problem for later. It didn’t happen and, when the person on the other side picked up, he began talking immediately to drown out his nerves.

“Hello, Maddy! This is Maddy, right? Oh, darling, it’s been so long--” Unable to keep himself still, he stood and paced his room, his legs feeling ready to bolt at any second. “--Too long, now- before you say anything, I just want to say I’m sorry! I’m sorry for absolutely anything that you think I might have done and I’m sorry if I’ve made you upset somehow because I always seem to do that with my cousins and honestly, it’s something I am planning on working on. If you’d let me. I mean, I won’t rest until you let me make it up to you for whatever it is that I’ve done because, honestly, I’m not entirely sure what it is but if you just tell me then I’ll make it right--”

“God! Have you always been this talkative?!” The gruff tones of his cousin interrupted.

Mettaton gulped.

“Look, I don’t want to talk about this over the phone. We should make this official somehow. We’ll all meet up somewhere.”

“Spooky too?”

“Yeah. We’re living together nowadays. Not that you’d know these things.”

“Please, Maddy-”

“No, I’m not talking about this now! We’ll meet later. How about Friday?”

“Friday, Friday, Friday--” Mettaton rushed over to his planner on his desk, flicking through the pages frantically. Danny goes on a trip on Friday afternoon but other than that, it’s a completely free day. “I can do that! What time? I can do any time, darling, any time at all.”

“Some time in the morning? It doesn’t matter! I’ll text you our address and just get here! And bring Napstablook and that boyfriend of yours.”

“You want to meet Danny?”

“Well, I’ve got to eventually... We’ll talk more later! Just bring them.”

They hung up, leaving Mettaton reeling. 

~~~

Mettaton came down the stairs slightly dazed, his eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Danny, I have something to ask of you,” he spoke softly as he reached the living room, “I just called my cousin, you know, the one I was telling you about. And they want to meet you.”

Danny didn’t look up from the newspaper he was reading but he managed a raised eyebrow, indicating Mettaton to go on.

“On Friday.”

“Mettaton, you know I’m going away on Friday.”

“I do but this is so important, Danny. It’s a chance I can put all of this mess behind me-- I know, I know, you have to go and host that award ceremony and you can’t be late but this will be in the morning and you’re going later. It won’t take up much of your time, I promise, I-” Mettaton stopped, feeling like this was a lost cause. 

“I?” Danny asked, “You were going to say something.”

Mettaton fell down into the seat by his side, taking his hand in a last-ditch attempt. “I need you, Danny. I can’t go through all of that by myself.”

Reluctance flashed in Danny’s eyes before he sighed and tapped Mettaton’s hand in return. “Okay, fine. As long as it doesn’t make me late. I’ll have to pack early...”

“Thank you, baby, thank you so much!” Mettaton said, squeezing his arm as if to keep himself afloat, drowning in nerves.

~~~

On Friday morning, the three of them found themselves outside the very house that had been filling Mettaton’s thoughts with dread. Danny pulled up outside as Mettaton was wishing he’d just drive straight passed and never stop.

Mettaton looked back at Napstablook who was in the back seat, smiling in the hopes that it would make them feel better. “Ready?”

“No...”

“Me neither!” Mettaton opened the door, prompting the others to do the same. He stepped outside and took in a deep breath of cool morning air and turned to see Danny and Napstablook doing the same. “If it makes you feel any better, Blooky, they’ll be more angry at me than you. Actually, if they’re angry at you in the slightest, we’re leaving, I promise.”

Napstablook didn’t look reassured. 

Without further ado, they made the seemingly endless trek up the short yard, stepping past the little plant pots they’d situated by the door, full of blooming flowers that were thriving beautifully in the recent heatwave. 

Mettaton closed his eyes and tapped on the door with his rhythmic fingers and, to his shock, the door opened before he could finish knocking. He opened his eyes again to see a scraggy looking dummy that had stuffing pouring out of their sides, a timid look on their face. Mettaton didn’t quite know where to look without seeming like he was judging them in some way. Which cousin was this, anyway? When he’d seen Madstablook in the nightclub, they were in ghost form, had they decided to dress for the occasion? Or was this the other?

“Hello, darling, it’s been so long,” he spoke before his eyes widened and he turned to his companions, “This is my fiancé, Danny and Blooky-- well, I’m sure I don’t need to introduce you to Blooky.” The white ghost gave a small wave, looking paler by the second. Napstablook had seen a similar dummy in Undyne’s yard when they used to live in Waterfall- had that been their cousin all along? Why did they never say anything?

Danny was oddly silent, standing back slightly like he was hesitant about the whole thing completely. Every few seconds he checked his watch impatiently.

“I’m Spookstablook if you couldn’t tell,” the dummy said as they passed them and carried on into the house. “I guess you’ve never seen me like this before.”

“No, darling, I haven’t! It... suits you!”

Before Spookstablook could say anything else, their awkward little chat was cut off by Madstablook rounding the corner to meet them in the corridor. They were now also possessing a dummy, frayed at the edges like the other but this one had large gashes down the middle that looked like they’d been sliced open and hurriedly sewn back up again.

“This way!” they ordered without any other greeting. 

They all followed the ghost through the halls before finding themselves in a cramped room, a dining table in the centre with a mismatch of chairs pushed around the sides. Nothing matched in this room; the curtains were striped and the carpet was floral, every chair was a different height and colour and all the wall hangings were uneven. 

One by one they piled in, taking a seat around the little table. Danny, Napstablook and Mettaton on one side, the dummies on the other. It was all quiet for a moment before Mettaton’s talkative nature got the better of him.

“So, my darlings, how’s life been treating you?” he asked, smiling like this was the most natural thing in the world.

“Not as good as you, obviously,” Madstablook muttered. 

The ghost to their side nudged them. “Maddy, we spoke about this.” They turned to Mettaton apologetically. “Sorry about them... We’re doing okay. It turns out that humans don’t like having mannequins in their stores that move because it scares the customers so Maddy’s returned the being a training dummy and I’m... well, unemployed. But it’s okay!” They gasped suddenly. “That’s not why we asked you here, by the way, we’re okay for money. We don’t want any from you.”

“It’s not like he doesn’t have enough...” Maddy huffed.

Mettaton could hear Danny make a small sound of disbelief. 

“I didn’t know you guys were struggling,” Mettaton said, “Even if you’re okay for money, I could try and help somehow. I never thought about how your life would be impacted on the surface. I suppose I just thought... it would be easier for everyone up here. Apparently not.” He twisted his lips as he thought. “Can’t you possess something other than a dummy? You’re obviously not completely corporeal yet. Not bonded to your body like I am...”

“Why don’t you all become robots?” Danny added, “Surely that would solve all of your problems with work. As we know, robot entertainers are never stuck for cash-”

“Oh yeah, we’ll just use all the money we don’t have to pay for robot bodies each.”

“I’m sure Mettaton’s friend won’t mind--”

“Well _actually_ ,” Mettaton interjected before anyone started getting any ideas, “Alphys has said that she’s never making another robot body again in her life for all the hassle she went through making me...” He chuckled nervously, letting the sound bleed out into the silence of the room. “You guys don’t have to worry about anything now, though. We’ll sort everything out.”

“We don’t need your pity.”

Mettaton’s eyes snapped towards them, patience run out. “Okay, that’s _it_.” His pitch was raised out of utter exasperation. “You’re the one who brought me here and for what? I thought you wanted to meet my fiancé but you’ve been nothing but cold to him this whole time. You haven’t even acknowledged that Blooky’s here and me? I just don’t know what you want from me, Maddy! _Do you want my money or not?_ ”

Mettaton didn’t realise when he’d began standing but he didn’t sit down again. “Did you seriously just bring me here to berate me in front of my family?”

“Mettaton, please....” Blooky begged. They hated seeing Mettaton so worked up. 

But no one else heard the ghost’s plea.

“I’ll tell you what I want!” Maddy replied, floating above the table to match Mettaton’s height, “I want you to care about something other than money for once! You’ve never cared about us! Never, Never, NEVER!”

Mettaton took a deep breath, obviously struggling to control his turbulent emotions. He’d never let something get to him like this in a normal situation, but this was different. He was being struck right in the insecurities. A place he’d kept sealed up for years. 

“Of course I’ve cared,” Mettaton said, trying his hardest to keep his voice monotone and betray the emotions that were battling to break free, “I-” his voice cracked, “What makes you think I don’t care?”

“Well... where’ve you been?” It was Spookstablook’s voice that was heard this time, calm and gentle and _jarring_ in its innocence. Mettaton’s heart broke. “When the barrier broke... the first thing you did was meet up with Blooky but you completely forgot about us...”

Mettaton shook his head absently as if trying to deny what was so obviously true. 

“You can’t deny it!” Maddy continued, “You were even boasting about it on the television! All about your wonderful cousin, about how much you love your family! But it’s not true, is it?” 

“I don’t understand how you’re pinning this all on me...” Mettaton said, his voice trailing off, trying to find his words when they were all evading him. “I’m the one who has to find you after _you_ left? I’m the one who has to reunite us after you put down my dreams for so long? All I ever wanted was to be something. To not be exactly what you two have become. You said it was impossible and now look at us. I have everything I ever wanted and you? You’re complaining that I’ve forgotten about you. For your information, I never forgot. But maybe I just chose to not go back to you. I came back for Blooky because they always believed in me but you? When did you ever-”

Maddy sputtered, “Because at the time it was stupid!”

“No! No, it wasn’t!” Mettaton shook his head, more decisively this time. “I get that it was hard to have dreams in the Underground but someone had to. I made that place more bearable by becoming Mettaton--”

“Oh, will you _listen_ to yourself,” Maddy spat, “People would have taken anything down there just to stop thinking about how miserable they are. Even a big stupid rectangle! You got lucky and got big. And you’re doing the exact same thing on the surface. Always the lucky cousin, always getting what you want. Always, always, _always_. Why don’t you share some luck with the rest of us for once?”

“Don’t you dare say that all of my hard work is simply down to ‘luck’.” His voice was cold, nothing like the charming TV personality who’d make everyone smile with every trill of his tongue. He sounded dead. “You don’t even know how much effort I’ve put in to get to this position.”

“By hitch-hiking off this moron’s fame?” Maddy nodded towards Danny who merely looked slightly perturbed, glancing at his watch. 

“That’s not what I’m doing-- _You know what_?” Mettaton couldn’t deal with this anymore. They were getting nowhere, it had been a wasted journey and Napstablook was growing more distressed by the second. He had to commend them for not disappearing completely yet. “I don’t have to listen to this. I have my life and you obviously have yours where you’re perfectly happy without me.” 

“Oh good,” Danny said, standing to follow as Mettaton stalked out of the room. Blooky had finally disappeared into nothingness and was waiting for them all outside.

The two cousins made no attempt to stop them leaving, listening out for the door slamming before they resigned into their seats. Making up with their cousins hadn’t gone as smoothly as they’d hoped.

“Can you believe they had the _audacity_ to say all of that?!” Mettaton was ranting as soon as his foot hit the concrete yard outside. The three of them headed back to the car, the tension rolling off of Mettaton in almost-visible waves.

“Come on, let’s get you home,” Danny said, slipping into the driver’s seat. The others followed him into the car, silence permeating the air. 

It was a long car journey, only made longer by the silence. All Mettaton wanted to do was go home and curl up with a bottle of Danny’s expensive wine next to Danny himself. Morning be damned, it suddenly felt like an incredibly good time to drown his sorrows and pretend like nothing’s wrong. 

They dropped Napstablook off at their home and Mettaton called apologies out of the window towards them. Sorry that he made them do that, sorry that he’d even tried, sorry he didn’t try hard enough. Mettaton couldn’t tell whether his apologies were getting through to them but he kept them up until Danny pressed on the gas and sped away.

“Well that was humiliating,” Mettaton said as they pulled back into the driveway of their house. “At least it was over quickly.”

“Indeed!” was all Danny said as he bustled in through the doorway, he seemed eager to get somewhere.

“I’m absolutely exhausted, Danny-dear. I... still can’t believe that happened.” He closed the door, watching it click softly into place. “I always imagined it would be happier. They’d greet me with open arms and there’d be a ‘welcome back’ banquet and maybe I’d get a ‘I got my family back’ parade and...everything would be like it used to be...” He rolled his eyes, turning to face the room his boyfriend wasn’t in. “...Danny?”

He walked down the hallway and up the stairs, finding Danny in their bedroom, hurriedly stuffing his suitcase full. 

“Have you seen my passport?” he asked urgently, not raising his eyes from the shirt he was elbowing into his luggage. 

Silently, Mettaton picked his passport up off of the bedside table and held it in his hands.

“Can we... talk about what just happened for a second?”

“Mettaton, my passport-”

“Please.”

“I don’t have _time_ , Mettaton.” Danny zipped his suitcase up with a huff. Looking up, he saw the passport in Mettaton’s hands and snatched it. “I really have to go now. I’m already late because of this.”

Usually Mettaton would have said something snide, tell him he was being unreasonable, rude, try and fight for his place in the relationship. But Mettaton wasn’t usually so tired.

“I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

Danny grunted and walked straight past him, leaving the house completely empty for all but the robot that had lost so much so quickly. 

~~~

He was still in the same spot in the bedroom when Papyrus texted him an hour later, only slumped on the floor, too tired to do anything else. 

“HOW DID THE REUNION GO?!” 

Mettaton could have wept, had he the energy to do so.

“Well! Absolutely splendid, darling. Thank you for asking. <3” Mettaton replied, heart warming a little at Papyrus’ concern.

“THAT’S WONDERFUL! I’M SO GLAD IT WENT WELL!! YOU’LL HAVE TO INTRODUCE ME TO THEM ONE DAY! I’M SURE ANY RELATIVES OF THE AMAZING METTATON ARE THE COOLEST!!”

Mettaton chuckled dryly, clicking his fingers against the keypad to answer. “Of course, maybe one day.” Before he could let Papyrus carry on the family conversation, he switched it. “How are you doing today?”

“I’M GREAT!” There was a pause before another message came through. “AND BY GREAT I MEAN INCREDIBLY NERVOUS.”

“Oh? What are you nervous about, sweetheart?”

“I HAVE ANOTHER DATE TODAY. SCARY!”

Mettaton felt his heart drop before he scolded it and made it get back up again. “I’m sure it will go brilliantly, darling. You two hit it off well to begin with, right?”

“RIGHT!”

“Then the hard part’s already over. Now you just have to enjoy your time together.” Mettaton then typed out; “He’s a lucky guy,” before deleting it. Not wanting to come across as... exactly what he is. “You’ll have a great time together, I’m sure.”

“THANK YOU!” Papyrus replied, “I HOPE WE CAN SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN SOON, TOO!”

“Me too, darling.” he typed. 

_God, I need that more than anything_ he thought as he put the phone down, _I really need a Papyrus right about now._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *vibrates intensely* thank you for sticking with this fic all this time!! We're really getting deep into it now and you'll see why next chapter, so please stay tuned!!
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed! If you wanna come and chat, visit my tumblr @mtt-metal-crusher


	16. The Storm: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heat, fire and burning passion. These are things both Mettaton and Papyrus are looking for in a lover, but can they find it with the men they're currently with? Only time will tell.

Papyrus was sure dates were supposed to get less nerve-racking the more he had them. It only made sense that, because the last date went by so well, this one would too. Elliot was into him! It was like Mettaton said, the hard part was over, he’d already successfully wooed him, now all he needs to do is enjoy his time with him... and yet there was still that agonising doubt that played his mind like a fiddle.

“Papyrus! You look awesome,” was the first thing Elliot said to him that evening. 

Papyrus looked down at his outfit, glad Elliot seemed to appreciate his neon green crop top and striped blue shorts. He’d decided it was the most incredible outfit in the world when he stood in front of his mirror at home and had spent the rest of the trip to the bar thinking that it was the most stupid thing he’d ever thought of. 

The bar they’d picked was probably also a terrible idea. It had been Papyrus’ choice to dine at Mettaton’s new gay bar. Sure, it was mainly a nightclub but it doubled as a classy drinking establishment during the day, offering a cosy and refined area for monsters and humans to relax. Papyrus figured that, seen as both he and Elliot shared an interest in the glamorous robot, it would be an incredible destination for their second date. Somehow it never occurred to him until he arrived outside the doors that Mettaton himself could waltz in at any moment and amp their date up from terrifying to morbidly awkward. 

“You ready to go in?” Elliot asked, noticing Papyrus’ hesitancy as he stared up at the neon lights illuminating Mettaton’s name. 

Papyrus shook himself out of it, he had nothing to be afraid of. His little tryst with Mettaton was in the past now, old news. He was going to enjoy this date even if the place caught on fire and the world came to an end that very night.

“You look kinda tense,” Elliot remarked after they got drinks, sitting down at table. A delicate candle sat in the middle, flickering as they scooted their chairs up close. “Something on your mind?”

Papyrus made a visible effort to look less stressed then. He rounded his shoulders and stretched his limbs before slumping. “All that’s on my mind is our date!” he said, not entirely false.

Elliot flashed him a smile, one that showed off his sharp teeth. “Well, you know, if you’re so tense-” Before he could finish his sentence his phone made a noise and he jumped to pick it up. Upon seeing whatever notification had popped up, he chuckled in a way that made him sound a little juvenile, the kind of laugh Sans would do when he told a dirty joke. “Sorry- a friend,” he explained as he placed the phone back down on the table.

Papyrus smiled at him forgivingly. It was nice that he had friends to text him and make him smile! He could always appreciate that. 

“You were going to say something!” Papyrus reminded him, curiosity tickling at his mind, “Before you got interrupted.”

“Oh! Yeah yeah,” he chuckled in that same way again, scratching the back of his ear like he was thinking of something embarrassing, “I was gonna say that if you’re so tense then maybe I could help you out with that sometime--” he raised his paws to show Papyrus, “I’m quite good at massages as well as... other things.”

Papyrus choked on the drink he was sipping and covered it up with nervous laughter. “Wow, so forward!” he said, trying his hardest not to look embarrassed. 

“Sorry, yeah, probably was.”

“Oh! No, don’t apologise. Make as many innuendoes as you like. I...” Papyrus took a deep breath to steady himself, “I don’t mind!” 

Elliot gave Papyrus a look that made him feel like he was undressing him with his eyes, running over the ribs under his shirt, the spine that protruded from the bottom of his crop top, the little shorts that barely covered his pelvis and then back up to his hollow eyes. “Good, I’m glad to hear that...”

It was at that exact moment that Papyrus came to the very jolting realisation that this relationship of theirs could spiral in a more physically _intimate_ one at any moment; provided they were both ready, of course. It took Papyrus only one rushed moment to contemplate it. Was he ready? He still knew so little about Elliot but when had that ever mattered? Papyrus loved the sound of a whirlwind romance, getting swept up in each other before they even noticed how deep in love they’d grown. Falling into bed with one another without thinking of the consequences, learning about each other in the most delicate ways...

“Uhh, Papyrus? You’re zoning out.” Elliot waved his hand in front of Papyrus’ face, bringing him swiftly back to Earth. “Oh shit, are you blushing?”

“Language!” Papyrus scolded in an attempt to cover up the fact that he was, in fact, blushing, “Sorry for disappearing, I was thinking about very important skeleton things.”

Elliot chuckled. “Yeah like, rattling and calcium?”

“Precisely!” Papyrus nodded. “And you can’t forget the ever-increasing importance of shirt length!”

“Shirt length?”

“You heard correct! The length of your shirt is very important for a skeleton-” He gestured towards his crop-top. “Unless I’m going to a fancy event that requires a proper shirt- I refuse to wear anything that covers my spine! Why should I? I want everyone to know that I’m at peak skeleton health! And to know that they have to see as much of me as possible...”

Elliot gave him an amused expression. “I’m sure you could make that shirt a little shorter. For good measure.”

Papyrus glanced down, noting the way his bottom ribs just jutted out from hem, more than enough for a cheeky little hint of what could be expected under there. He’d always assumed that saucy slither of ribs showing was the perfect amount. “Huh! You think?”

“Oh yeah, you want people to see as much of you as possible, right? I know I certainly do...”

 _He’s really laying it on thick tonight!_ Papyrus thought. He wasn’t complaining, certainly not. This was a kind of attention he’d never been given before and he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t wished for it in the past. 

“Maybe I should just go without a top at all like some sort of bony reprobate.”

“Hey, you wouldn’t see me complaining,” Elliot replied with a wink that made Papyrus melt from the inside out.

~~~

“Tell me, darling, how’s work treating you today?” 

“Work? What’re you talking about?” Undyne’s scratchy voice questioned down the phone.

Mettaton frowned. “Work. You know, your security job? The thing I pay you for?”

Undyne scoffed. “Well, yeah, duh. It’s my day off! I’ve left the dogs in charge, remember?”

“That was today? God, I’ve had so much on my mind...” 

It had been but seven hours since Danny set off for his flight and left Mettaton in the lurch. He’d been unable to focus on anything but his encounter with his long lost family, and not having a single soul to speak about it with was sending his mind reeling with a conversation all of his own. Constantly arguing with himself was getting frustrating, he had to get something to distract himself, anything, and so he’d figured calling Undyne and asking about the club would get his mind to change the subject. 

“You doing alright?” Undyne asked when he went silent, unaware that he was rubbing his temples in an attempt to wipe the mental weariness from his head. 

“Perfect as always,” he sighed, “Are you sure the dogs will be okay on their own? I’ve never actually seen that tall one do anything but... _get taller_ before. Does he actually know about guarding?”

“Oh totally, dude! He’s awesome! I only ever employed the best of the best for the royal guard-- he’s tougher than he looks, I swear.”

Mettaton wasn’t convinced. “Maybe I should head down there. I don’t like the thought of my beautiful new establishment turning into a big pile of ash because I left a dog with a long neck in charge.”

“Oh come on, he’s got this!”

Mettaton hung up, glad to have an excuse to get out of that big echoey house. He swanned over to his walk in wardrobe and threw the doors open. He couldn’t turn up looking unprofessional, after all. He wanted to waltz in like he owned the place because, well, he did! 

He picked out a simple black suit and paired it with a sunflower yellow tie. Smart, sophisticated, brought out the purple of his eyeshadow... With a spritz of his favourite eau de parfum, he left the house feeling a little more like himself.

~~~

Mettaton thrust open both double doors with a push of his palms, quickly being swept up by the atmosphere as he did so. The dancing hadn’t begun yet but it was close, a later crowd was rocking in, ordering drinks and beginning to get noisy. He also noticed a few people sat down at tables, chatting away happily or just finishing up their evening meals. He skimmed over his patrons with a curious gaze before his eyes caught something, or rather, someone- _was that?_

Without making himself known, Mettaton sidled over to the bar, quite hoping he hadn’t been spotted. Of all the places Papyrus could have chosen for his date, it just had to be the one place he owned. He supposed he couldn’t blame him, he couldn’t think of anywhere better for a date-- he just wished Papyrus had slightly worse tastes. 

He let himself behind the bar and nudged a disgruntled Burgerpants out of the way, pouring himself a glass of the first liquid his hands landed on. 

“That’s strong stuff, sir- are you sure you want to drink that?”

Mettaton downed it in one. “After this day, I don’t think I’ve ever needed something more.”

~~~

It didn’t take long for Papyrus to notice Mettaton’s presence in the club. He’d caught the sweet hint of his perfume as he slid past their table, seemingly unaware of their presence. Papyrus’ eyes darted around to take him in and, when Elliot turned to see what he was looking at, he smiled that big, toothy grin once again.

“What I would give to spend a night with-” He stopped, suddenly aware of his company, “I mean, ha, who wouldn’t, right?”

Papyrus turned red. “He’s just a friend of mine.”

“Whatever you say. He’s always been a bit of a crush, I’ll admit.” He scratched the back of his ear. “But enough about that guy, right? Who cares about him when we’re on our date?”

“Yeah!” Papyrus agreed, enthused to change the subject, “Before he came in, you were telling a story about your co-workers?”

“Oh yeah, okay so like- the guy has gotta be over 200 pounds and he’s getting right up in my face-” Elliot continued, once again capturing Papyrus’ undivided attention. Papyrus was beginning to love the sound of Elliot’s voice, it didn’t matter what he was saying or how, Papyrus simply enjoyed being spoken to. Every now and then, Papyrus’ gaze would stray and find itself on Mettaton who, in between drinking, seemed to be making the rounds of all his employees. Sometimes his voice would carry across the room and make Papyrus realise with a burning shame how much he preferred its sound just as he was beginning to settle with Elliots’. But he supposed that would be something he could never change.

Mettaton was special to him, he always would be, but that was never going to go anywhere, no matter how much his soul begged for it. So he’d stick with this. Elliot was charming and sweet, and dating him didn’t involve any complications. Papyrus could kiss him without guilt, could think about him in his spare time without needing to scold himself. Being here with Elliot now was like a breath of fresh air, no matter how much his heart told him that the air would taste even sweeter elsewhere.

He could get used to this, with time.

~~~

“Tell me, beautiful, do you have any sort of qualifications?” 

The big, armoured dog wagged its’ tail and barked.

“What sort of training did Undyne put you through to get into the royal guard?”

The dog was panting, its’ tongue hanging from its’ jaw like it was awaiting a tasty meal. 

Mettaton was frowning now, looking into the dog’s eyes like he was expecting some sort of recognition to spark in them at any moment. “Do you even know who I am?”

Before the dog could get any further interrogating, Mettaton’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and stepped away, noticing that it was a message from Undyne.

He groaned, knowing it couldn’t possibly be anything good.

“Papyrus and Elliot are there in the club right now, yeah?”

Alarm bells rang in Mettaton’s head as he glanced up to make sure that yes, they were both still in the same position, laughing at each other’s jokes, enjoying each other’s company. What did she have to remind him of that for?

“They are. What about it?”

“You have to see this. Right now. I’ve done some research on this Elliot guy and-- just see for yourself:” Undyne sent Mettaton a link to some social media site. 

He opened it, his soul pounding in its casing. Elliot’s profile, seemingly innocent upon first glance. There was his profile picture, grinning broadly back at him. Mettaton scrolled down to find a selfie he’d posted of himself and Papyrus, huddled close together, a large furry arm around the skeleton’s shoulders. _Undyne better have a good reason for showing me this- Oh no--_ The caption of the selfie didn’t sit right with Mettaton. 

“I can’t believe you guys have got me doing this!” followed by several laugh-crying emojis. Mettaton’s brain felt like it was running at a hundred miles per hour, trying to work out what he could possibly mean by that. He was probably missing something, an inside joke or a conversation he hadn’t been apart of. So why was Undyne showing him this? 

Mettaton opened the comments on the picture then, curiosity overwhelming him.

By the nauseated feeling he quickly got assaulted with, he almost wished he hadn’t.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT EITHER. I’d feel bad that you have to go through with this if I didn’t know how much we were betting!!” someone commented, assumedly Elliot’s friend, followed by more laughing emojis. Another comment underneath said, “Tell you what, I’ll raise the stakes. You get him to sleep with you and I’ll add on another 50!”

Elliot’s reply made Mettaton want to hurl. “You know I can’t refuse that sort of offer!! It’s a deal.”

“Remember to photograph evidence!! I’m not paying up unless I know you’ve done it!” 

“Sure, sure!” More of those mocking emojis.

Elliot’s profile picture didn’t look quite so cheery anymore. In fact, it seemed to almost twist and turn under Mettaton’s gaze, shifting into something leering that Mettaton would quite like to put an end to. Looking up to see the very same sneering grin across the room, spending time with his beloved Papyrus sent chills through his entire body. It was all so clear now, how hadn’t he noticed this earlier? Everything about Elliot’s body language was screaming out ‘false’, he didn’t seem interested in Papyrus at all, in fact, he looked like he’d rather be anywhere else but there. How long had his laughs sounded so mocking? His eyes rolling after everything Papyrus said, tossing away every sentence with something rude in return, hoping Papyrus would ask him back to his place anytime soon...

Undyne had sent ten more messages since he last checked. All in caps, all threats of violence and murder. Mettaton didn’t read them all, he understood the feeling. He left her a quick ‘I’ll sort it’ before returning his phone to his pocket. This had to be put to an end. Now.

He was almost shaking with anger as he marched up to their table but he tried to calm himself when he reached them. For Papyrus’ sake. 

Mettaton didn’t want to embarrass him more than he had to. “Papyrus, darling, can I have a word with you on your own for a moment?”

Papyrus blinked at him, playing with the table cloth awkwardly between his fingers. “I’m in the middle of a date-”

“I know, sweetheart.”

“Anything that you have to say can be said in front of Elliot too!”

The heat that was coursing through Mettaton’s body was reaching it’s limit. Fine, he’d do it here. Papyrus just had to know.

“I think you should see this,” Mettaton placed his phone into Papyrus’ hands, open on Elliot’s profile. Mettaton still wanted it to be some sort of silly inside joke, one huge misunderstanding, even if it meant he’d just made a huge fool of himself. Judging by Papyrus’ falling expression, however, he knew this wasn’t the case.

“Elliot?” he asked, voice uncharacteristically quiet, “Am I- was this- just... a joke?”

The bear, suddenly catching onto what was happening, burst out laughing. The other two stared back, dark expression unchanged. 

“Damn, guess I’m not getting that extra fifty, then... Unless you’re still interested?” Elliot asked, winking at Papyrus through stifled chuckles. 

Mettaton placed a hand on Papyrus’ shoulder, steadying him. “He’s not.”

“God, what’s with you two? You think I was actually interested in this guy? Fuckin’ Skeletor over here? It was just a laugh. When you crashed into my fucking car I told a few of my friends about how I’d met that idiot from school again and they dared me to do this. I said no fucking way, obviously, but then they added cash to the mix. It was too funny to pass up!”

“We’ve heard enough,” Mettaton deemed, squeezing Papyrus’ shoulder harder in a show of solidarity. “Get out.”

Elliot leant back in his chair, looking highly amused at the situation. “I haven’t even finished my drink yet. Come on, I’ve always kinda admired you, won’t you give me a second chance?” He batted his eyelids at Mettaton before throwing his head back and roaring with laughter. 

Done with the conversation completely, Mettaton picked up Elliot’s glass and threw its contents at him. Everyone else was silent in the club now, all turned in their seats to witness the spectacle they were making. 

“There, you’ve finished your drink,” Mettaton said coolly as Elliot sputtered, wiping the alcohol out of his eyes. “Now **get out.** ”

“Jesus, can’t take a fuckin’ joke, huh?” Elliot coughed, shaking his fur clean. “I’m going, don’t expect me here again.”

“Good. Never come near either of us, we don’t want to see you.”

Before Elliot could make it far, Papyrus stood. “Elliot wait!”

He turned, twisting on his heel with that same mocking look in his eyes. “Look, if you’re too stupid to realise what just happened here-- we’re not dating anymore.”

“I pity you,” Papyrus said, standing a little taller as he did so, “For having such an ugly sense of humour. You must live such a sad life.”

“Says the 23-year-old virgin--”

“ _Out._ ” Mettaton barked, pointing towards the door. Greater Dog moved in Elliot’s direction as he did so, towering over him threateningly.

He held his hands up, laughing still. “I’m going, I’m going.” And that he did, disappearing through the door without any more fuss.

Papyrus exhaled once he left, his pride rushing out of his body like he couldn’t stand to hold onto it any longer.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” Mettaton said, “I can’t believe someone could be so--” He didn’t have words to describe him, he was in a state of disbelief. 

“I’m going to go home,” Papyrus said, completely defeated. 

Mettaton couldn’t ignore the way he was shaking, avoiding his gaze. “I can’t let you leave like this, Papyrus,” he told him. “Come on, I got chauffeured here, you can come back with me. Come back to my place for a while, we can have a chat about all of this mess. Break out the tissues.”

“I don’t want to interrupt your plans!”

“You won’t be. You’re at the top of my priorities right now, darling. I can’t leave you after what just happened.”

Papyrus managed a tense smile. “Thank you, Mettaton. For everything.”

They made their way out, glad they didn’t see Elliot outside there waiting for them. “Just thank me for not acting less rational. I’d have done much worse to him than just throw his drink in his face if I had my way...”

~~~

Papyrus remained strong as they were driven home, gritting his teeth to hold back any emotions that would betray his seemingly nonchalant demeanour. Mettaton tried to spark up a conversation a couple of times but Papyrus returned with one-word answers, his gaze ever fixed on the landscape beyond his car window. 

It was only when they were truly alone that Papyrus broke completely. 

“I’ve been stupid again!” he let out on Mettaton’s plush sofa as the robot poured them both a drink, “Why didn’t I notice what he was doing? It’s not even like he was hiding it from me! It was all over his public profile!”

“Oh, sweetheart, you weren’t stupid. He’s crafty, I can tell. An incredible liar too. When I walked in, I couldn’t tell there was anything off about him. You two seemed to be getting on beautifully!” Mettaton pushed Papyrus’ drink towards him, “I don’t know what he was thinking.”

Papyrus took his glass and took a long sip. “He used to do stuff like this in school... I should have known! Always with the pranks at my expense, the mocking, the laughing... and yet I still liked him!” He put the drink back down with a shaking hand. “I thought he’d changed.”

“His loss,” Mettaton said, his voice dry, “He can keep on being sad and alone while you, well, you have me.”

Papyrus glanced into Mettaton’s comforting eyes and looked away again, occupying his gaze with a frayed string hanging from his shorts, twizzling it in his fingers. 

“I’m grateful to have you! You’re an incredible friend! Especially as you should probably be celebrating tonight.”

Mettaton raised a brow. “Celebrating?”

“You recently got reunited with your family! This should be a happy night.”

“Yeah...” Mettaton sighed, just as he’d managed to push all of that from his mind, it came crashing back down on him like a ton of lead. “Not as happy as I made out before. It turns out that my dear cousins weren’t quite as welcoming as I might have liked. We argued, I stormed out. And I’m not sure whether I’m ever going to see them again.”

“Oh!” Papyrus turned to him with an urgency. “I had no idea!”

“Because I lied to you earlier,” Mettaton said, “I didn’t want to worry you!”

“You should always tell me when you’re upset!” Papyrus insisted, scooting closer, “It sounds like you’re in need of one of The Great Papyrus’ infamous hugs. Get ready!”

“Oh Pappy-” Mettaton sighed as he felt himself being pulled into Papyrus’ grasp, falling into his tight embrace. He returned it, knowing Papyrus needed comfort as much as he did in that moment. “What a mess,” he whispered, feeling Papyrus’ strong hands smooth over his back. 

“Thank you for telling me about Elliot,” Papyrus said, his voice strained. “If you hadn’t I would have probably... made a bigger fool of myself tonight!”

The implication of Papyrus’ words ran through Mettaton’s thoughts. Elliot, the bet, sleeping with Papyrus... _God, Papyrus was going to go through with it._ Mettaton held him tighter. 

“The only fool tonight was Elliot, my darling. He’s a fool for treating you like that. Doesn’t know how lucky he was to have you.” Mettaton pulled back, looking Papyrus in the eye, “Don’t let him get to you. You don’t need someone like that.”

“It was nice to feel loved for once,” Papyrus choked out, shaking his head.

Mettaton stilled him with a hand on his jaw. “If only you knew.”

Papyrus gazed into his eyes, feeling a sudden intensity in them that he couldn’t work out. “Knew what?”

Mettaton looked hesitant. Then he sighed, deep and heavy. “Resisting you is so difficult... I’ve tried so hard to push you away, Papyrus, but it made me ache more and more every time. I told you our kiss meant nothing. That it was a mistake, nothing more. But I was cruel to say that, wasn’t I? Especially when that wasn’t true.”

Papyrus remained silent, not daring to utter another sound.

“I’ve been in love with you this whole time, Papyrus, and I don’t know how to deal with it. I can’t be and yet-”

He was cut off by Papyrus’ teeth pressed firmly against his lips. Mettaton melted into it immediately, hot and desperate for the contact. It felt as though Mettaton had been holding one long, exhausting breath since the last time they’d kissed, holding onto it until he felt he could barely contain it any longer. And now he was exhaling, letting the breath unravel and pour out of him with such an intense relief he felt himself go light-headed. 

Papyrus kissed him feverishly, heavily, _endlessly_ , his hands finding purchase anywhere they could; on Mettaton’s jaw, his back, his tie- pulling him closer. He didn’t mind where his hands were as long as they were bringing Mettaton closer. 

Mettaton, on the other hand, felt himself pulling away, if only by an inch, to throw Papyrus a serious look. Papyrus immediately felt his gut flip, knowing he’d just made a terrible mistake, that he’d ruined their friendship- that Mettaton would never want to see him again--

“Are you sure, Papyrus?” Mettaton gasped, still so close that his hot breath could be felt against Papyrus’ mouth, “Are you sure you want this?”

The ache inside Papyrus’ soul answered for him. “Yes! I’ve never been more sure of anything!” 

Mettaton groaned and leant back in, connecting their hungry mouths once again. They were so close now that their chests pressed together, arms entwined around the others’ backs, embracing as though they’d lose the other if they let go. 

This kiss was different to the first, and both could tell. It still had the same passion, the same desperation, and yet it wasn’t as sweet and loving as the other. This wasn’t a result of earnest love confessions and soft, blossoming affection, it was _lust_. Mettaton could feel it in the heat that radiated from between them, the heat that only seemed to grow with every second that passed where there mouths were still intact. He could feel it when Papyrus’ kisses grew deeper and slipped down from his mouth and to his neck, where he bit softly at the sensitive flesh that lay there. Mettaton threw his head back in response, eyes rolling back in his head at the attention Papyrus was paying him. 

His eyes widened when he felt a wetness on his neck where Papyrus had been nibbling. He brought Papyrus’ face back up to his mouth and was greeted by a new addition to his urgent kisses. A tongue slid out from between Papyrus’ teeth and met his own. Mettaton moaned into Papyrus’ mouth as he felt their tongues slide against each other, barely able to control his own hands as they travelled across the skeleton’s touch-starved body.

Mettaton decided right there and then that this was the most heated moment of his life. Everything burned like they were on fire, their touches scorched and their insides liquefied. The only thing they could focus on was the heat and they both knew there was only one way to put it out...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally!! We're plunging into the deep end and, if you didn't already guess by the ending of this chapter- the next is going to be nsfw! It's optional because nothing super plot worthy is gonna happen- except, ya know, more cheating. So if you're not into smut, you can go ahead and just guess what's gonna go down.
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'm so happy to finally be at this point (I've been waiting to write this one for so long). Please, if you enjoyed, think about leaving a comment or at least some kudos! Thank you all!


	17. Give Me A Reason To Love You *

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes people do things they'll later regret. Sometimes they do things that should most likely be admonished.
> 
> Sometimes, they do each other.
> 
> For Mettaton and Papyrus, this chapter encompasses all three.
> 
> (NSFW CHAPTER, don't read if you're underage/don't like nsfw content!! Normal plot will continue next chapter.)

_“I can’t believe we’re actually-”_ Mettaton’s words were kissed away, the skeleton’s mouth glued against his. They gasped heavily against each other, almost gagging for breath in the midst of all the excitement. 

They knew they should probably be feeling bad in this situation, like their morals should intervene at any moment and snatch this all away from them. But they didn’t, nothing could possibly stop them now. All they felt was aroused, excited, a little bit dirty.. and most of all, loved, for what felt like the first time in forever.

Hands wandered where they’d never dared before, zipping this way and that in an attempt to touch everywhere at once, not wanted to miss any spot out. It wasn’t long before Papyrus’ long fingers found their way underneath Mettaton’s suit jacket, winding their way around his back, groping at the tender synthetic flesh that dwelled just beneath his shirt. Reaching higher, Papyrus found himself unable to reach all the wonderful Mettaton-y areas he desired, and so, without even breaking their frantic kiss, he pushed the jacket from Mettaton’s shoulders. Mettaton obliged to Papyrus’ actions, shrugging it away like it meant nothing to him, just another boundary between himself and the skeleton in front of him. 

As soon as the jacket was discarded upon the floor, Mettaton’s hands were back upon him, all over him, searching in every way he could. Curiosity overcame him as he ventured under Papyrus’ crop top, feeling the hard ribs that lay underneath with a confident stroke. He felt Papyrus shudder under the contact and Mettaton knew he was doing good. He carried on, rubbing the ribs like he was on a mission, delighting in the way Papyrus kissed with added tenacity, each touch of his ribs intensifying his actions.

Papyrus grew hungry from this. Terribly so. In that short amount of time, he’d wound up on Mettaton’s lap, melting into his touch like a needy cat who’d gone by un-pet for far too long. He wanted to feel it forever, and he wanted to feel _more_. 

Getting as close as he could, Papyrus straddled Mettaton’s lap and grasped his jaw on either side with a strong grip, angling his face so his kisses could be applied with ease. Mettaton let his eyes flutter closed, allowing himself to just experience the intensity of the situation. He’d never felt such passion laid upon him before. Danny had desired him but Papyrus _craved_ him. In more ways than one...

Mettaton’s hands kept up their actions, giving Papyrus’ ribs the attention they seemed to cry out for. From their position, Mettaton could feel Papyrus’ body pressing against his own, the hard bones of his legs against his thighs, ribs against his chest, hands against his jaw. The firmness of Papyrus’ body upon him was dizzying in its’ presence, not at all as uncomfortable as someone would imagine a skeleton to feel. In fact, there was one hardened area that now seemed to be pressing into Mettaton’s inner thigh that interested him greatly. 

Pushing Papyrus’ eager face back, Mettaton gasped. “Darling, let’s move this to the bedroom-- I can’t wait any more... and it feels like you can’t either.”

Papyrus looked as though he’d been waiting to hear those words all night. He slid off of Mettaton’s lap and stood on two shaky legs, glad to have Mettaton’s arm quickly slip around his waist for support. They rushed off towards the staircase, Mettaton in the lead. Before Papyrus could even lay one foot on the bottom step, both of his feet were swept up into the air as Mettaton heaved him up into his arms, whisking him away like it was nothing. As he made his way up the stairs, two steps at a time, he whispered something Papyrus couldn’t quite catch amongst his heavy breathing, only hearing a quiet ‘sorry’. Papyrus chose to block it from his mind.

Mettaton hurried down a long corridor with him, passed a few open doors and came to an abrupt halt at the end. Without so much as a warning, he dropped Papyrus back down onto his feet and pushed him against the door with a hefty thump. And then Mettaton was back on him, all over him, wet kisses were pressed sloppily onto his teeth, growing heavier every time Papyrus sighed with bliss. Without surfacing, Mettaton fumbled with the door they were pressed up against, tempted almost, in that moment to just take him right there but decided against it. He could wait until they were inside at least. 

Finally finding the door handle amidst their frenzied kisses, Mettaton twisted and almost fell inside as it pushed open. They caught themselves before toppling over and shuffled into the room, kisses somehow still intact. 

It was dark inside, nightfall had crept up rather quickly on the both of them, though neither of them seemed to notice. They made their way clumsily to the bed and toppled onto it, Papyrus underneath, getting served with a barrage of hungry kisses. 

“Ugh, I need to see you,” Mettaton whined after a moment, leaving Papyrus’ body waiting on the bed. He crossed back over to where the door was and flicked the light on, squinting as everything suddenly got too bright. 

Papyrus took the opportunity to look around, realising quickly that this couldn’t have been Mettaton’s usual bedroom. Everything was too tidy, empty, _beige_ , definitely not a place used by Mettaton often. In the back of his mind, he noticed the sound of rainfall pattering against the darkened windows at the other side of the room. If he’d cared a little more in that moment, he’d have realised that it had been the first rainfall they’d had in months. Before he could tear his attention away from Mettaton for too long, however, he’d dimmed the lights and was almost sprinting back towards him, kicking his heels off as he went. Papyrus shuffled back on the bed on his elbows, expecting Mettaton to jump back on top of him at once; and that’s exactly what he did.

The first place Mettaton’s hands went were Papyrus’ shirt, pushing it up to his chin to reveal his pearly-white ribs. Up his right side, determined kisses were laid upon every rib from bottom to top whilst Mettaton caressed the other side with his hands. Papyrus whimpered under the sudden contact and he could have swore he heard Mettaton groan in response.

“Your ribs- they feel good when I--” Mettaton made out as he continued exploring with his lips and hands, swapping sides every few seconds.

 _“Very!”_ Papyrus returned, “I-it’s one of my most sensitive spots, especially from the inside-- I can’t reach there with my own hands-- I mean! Not that I do that stuff often, touch myself, I mean, I- please keep going!”

“Of course you do, Papyrus,” Mettaton hummed as his hand slipped inside his ribcage to grab at him from inside, “Pleasuring yourself is nothing to be ashamed of. We all do.” Mettaton leant in close as his fingers found a particularly sensitive spot on the underside of Papyrus’ sternum that made him quiver. “Lately I like to think of you as I do so.”

Papyrus gasped a shocked moan, beginning to get overwhelmed. His eyelights rolled back in his head as he said, “I think of you too. I could barely help it... I always hated myself for it.”

“Don’t. Not anymore. I’m here, baby, and I want you so badly.” Mettaton punctuated his sentence with his tongue slipping over Papyrus’ collar bone, sucking on it as best he could whilst his shirt was still on, being held up by his thumb. “Take this off, here-” Mettaton took hold of the shirt and Papyrus held his arms up for him to remove. It got tossed somewhere on the other side of the room, out of sight, and Mettaton returned to his collar, experimentally biting it, if only lightly.

Papyrus sighed and his elbows gave way, causing his head to fall down on the pillows underneath him. He looked up at Mettaton who was straddling him, his hair mussed, lipstick smudged and mouth gently parted. Papyrus could have gazed at that sight all day, the way his chest heaved and his lips moistened with each passing second was hypnotizing. But not at all satisfying. He craved Mettaton in a way he’d never craved anything before and he was going to satiate that feeling soon. That thought was all he could think of.

“I’ve never been with a skeleton monster before, Pappy, so if I do anything wrong just tell me,” Mettaton whispered as he began using both hands on Papyrus’ broad chest, rubbing his ribs in circular motions akin to a massage. 

“You could do nothing wrong,” Papyrus assured him, his voice shaking slightly, “I’ve never been with _anyone_ before!”

Mettaton paused for a moment, remembering what Elliot had said earlier, the little jab at Papyrus being a ‘23-year-old virgin’. Mettaton had just assumed it had been a lie to rile Papyrus up. But no. _Apparently_ this beautiful, lovely skeleton had gone untouched this entire time and Mettaton had no idea. He was about to change that. He deserved it.

He turned his attention to the hardened erection that Papyrus was displaying under his shorts. It was causing his elastic-bound shorts to tent up impressively. The size of the bulge was something Mettaton couldn’t ignore for much longer. It was certainly true, then, that little rumour Mettaton had heard years ago about skeleton monsters, that they did, in fact, have genitalia. Mettaton couldn’t express how relieved he was.

Running his fingers over the clothed erection was enough to make Papyrus shudder. He was hard as a diamond under there. 

“May I?” Mettaton asked, fingers poking into the waistband of Papyrus’ shorts, ready to tear them away. When Papyrus nodded, they were done away with, gone from sight and mind. “Oh, _Pappy_ ,” Mettaton gasped as he moved back over Papyrus. “You’re so...” he shifted close, crawling over him so their mouths were nearly touching, “Well-endowed.”

Papyrus groaned and, without another word, he tugged on the tie that was hanging from Mettaton’s neck and brought his lips to his teeth. As they kissed, their bodies grew close and Mettaton’s crotch brushed against Papyrus’ cock, just enough to tease the skeleton into whining. 

“You should take your clothes off,” Papyrus huffed, hands beginning to fiddle with his tie. 

“You’re right, you’re so right,” Mettaton said, helping Papyrus’ hands by loosening the tie and pulling it over his head. Before he had a chance to fully remove it, Papyrus was already unbuttoning his shirt, skilled bony fingers undressing him in a frenzy. The shirt was soon ripped from Mettaton’s body and tossed away. His newly-bare chest was quickly caressed by Papyrus’ eager hands. Without his armour, Mettaton’s body resembled closely to that of a humans, at his own request, only it was silver and shone in the light, feeling ever-so metallic under Papyrus’ delicate fingers. 

Mettaton shuddered at the contact, unused to the attention. 

“You like what you see?” Mettaton asked, trying to keep up his usual charismatic shtick despite the growing flustered feeling that was welling in his gut, and showed in his cheeks. 

Papyrus glanced back up to his face through lidded eyes. “I think I’ll have to see the rest before I give you my answer.” He wiggled underneath him, arousal clearly getting the better of him. “You’ve seen mine after all!”

“I certainly have,” Mettaton moaned. His eyes hadn’t strayed too far from Papyrus’ cock since he’d unveiled it, in fact. _God, that’s Papyrus’ cock!_ thought Mettaton, shuddering violently at this revelation, _sensitive, adorable Papyrus is here underneath me all nude and_ hard _and undoing my belt- oh God, he’s undoing my belt. I can’t believe this is happening. How can this be happening?_ Mettaton was sure his soul was doing somersaults within its casing. 

In the small kerfuffle of removing Mettaton’s pants, the two found their positions completely shifted, Mettaton had his back on the mattress and Papyrus was above him just after tugging the trousers down passed his ankles. 

The skeleton soon found great interest in Mettaton’s underwear, feeling the fabric gingerly between his forefinger and thumb. “They-they’re pretty,” he said as though he was reviewing ornamental table cloths and not his engaged friend’s lacy panties. Papyrus was almost drooling. 

Mettaton rolled his hips, wordlessly inviting Papyrus to remove the fabric he was fondling. He did so with ease, slipping the panties passed Mettaton’s smooth hips and away, thrown God-knows where across the room with the rest.

A dizzying panic suddenly swept over Mettaton’s body as he spread his legs for Papyrus. He knew how this game went, he laid on his back and his fervour dwindled. He got used and ignored, unable to gain any gratification for himself. Papyrus would enter him, fuck him and leave him needing more like Danny did. Like he always did. After all, Mettaton had never actually orgasmed during sex before, why would this be any different? 

Papyrus’ behaviour was already starkly different in comparison to Danny, however, Mettaton noticed. He didn’t thrust into him as soon as he got hard, nor did he act like Mettaton was only here for his pleasure. When Papyrus didn’t position himself for sex like he’d intended him to do when he spread his legs, Mettaton wandered what could possibly be running through his mind.

“You’re so hard,” Papyrus said, running his hands up Mettaton’s thighs, his thumb stroking the inner sections. “I’d like to-” Papyrus glanced at Mettaton’s erection and back up at his heavy-lidded eyes, “Pleasure you?”

Mettaton processed Papyrus’ words slowly, wondering if this was all just a dream that he was going to wake up from at any moment. A brilliant, wonderful dream that he’d never forget. It certainly explained why he felt so guilt-free...

“Please,” Mettaton heard himself gasp, spreading his legs wider for Papyrus, who was sitting on his knees between them, looking down at him like he was a masterpiece.

“Perhaps if I just-” Papyrus muttered to himself as he wrapped his hand delicately around Mettaton’s cock, “Touch you like-” He tightened his grip slightly, moving his hand down the shaft, “Or maybe I should-” He moved his hand back to the top and swept his thumb across the tip, smearing the pre-cum that had gathered there as far down the shaft as it could reach. 

Mettaton watched Papyrus’ exploration of his cock with his jaw hung slightly agape. No one had ever taken it into such great consideration before, handling it like it was precious.

“I think it would feel even better for you if I just...” Papyrus leant down until his head was between Mettaton’s quaking legs and let out his tongue. With one slow, deliberate lick, Papyrus dragged his tongue from base to tip, coating Mettaton’s throbbing cock with saliva. 

Papyrus surfaced again, a lustful smile gracing his face. 

“That should be better,” he commented as he wrapped his hand around Mettaton’s length once again and began pumping, watching with pride at the way Mettaton melted into the pillows below him, head tilting back like he was in ecstasy. 

Papyrus’ movements were slow and precise, gauging his illicit lover’s reactions to each tug of his now-slick cock. He liked to catch every moan, every gasp, every jerk of his hips when he’d get overwhelmed. Mettaton’s flustered blush never dampened a bit, and Papyrus couldn’t help but wonder how different this experience was to how he’d usually do it with Danny. Mettaton looked as though he’d never been touched before. The robot was completely and utterly in awe by every action Papyrus carried out.

Papyrus took to playing with him curiosity, not really seeking anything in particular, only wanting to find out exactly what made Mettaton tick. He’d run his fingers up the underside of Mettaton’s cock and feel his thighs tense by his side. He’d play with the tip and note with heightened arousal the way Mettaton would squirm. He’d add another hand and sigh happily at Mettaton’s murmurs of appreciation. 

Mettaton was feeling entirely enraptured by the whole situation. He was mesmerised, watching the way Papyrus’ hands worked through an enravished gaze. All he could think about was how good this dream felt, wondering despite this, how much more they could get up to before he inevitably woke up. His thoughts made no sense and he knew this; dreams had never felt quite so spectacular as this before- if they did, there’d be no point in being awake. But he couldn’t quite understand how this could be real life either. It all felt much too unrealistic. Too good to be true.

Mettaton glanced down at Papyrus’ own swelling erection and felt a surge of motivation towards changing their position. 

“Papyrus, darling-” Mettaton made out before stopping to realise how ridiculous it was that he was saying Papyrus’ name in this context. All breathy and flustered. “Papyrus,” he reaffirmed, “Perhaps we could- ah, try something else? I want to make you feel good.”

Papyrus looked up from Mettaton’s cock and moved his hand a few inches away, smiling amusedly at the way it twitched back into his open palm, as though begging for him to carry on. 

“Make me feel good?” Papyrus questioned toyingly, a wry smile working its way up to his teeth, “But watching you unravel underneath me is so much fun...”

That did it, Mettaton’s head fell back and his legs locked, ecstasy coursing through his body like water from a broken dam; suddenly and all at once. Despite how much he mentally refused it, Mettaton was climaxing already, his body quivering as he let out deep unrestrained groans. Papyrus caught on immediately and returned his hand to Mettaton’s cock, loyally tugging out the last of his orgasm. He cooed gently as he saw Mettaton cum down his phalanges, slowing slightly to the sound of his dwindling moans. After what Mettaton was sure was one of the most intense yet completely unexpected orgasms of his life, he collapsed into the mattress beneath himself, utterly humiliated, not sure what Papyrus would make of him.

Papyrus was soon there to answer his question, however, hovering over him on all fours, a hand either side of his head. 

“Oh Papyrus, I really can’t believe I just-” Mettaton’s disbelief was quickly cut off by Papyrus’ mouth on his once again. Mettaton moaned into him, beginning to get used to the surprises Papyrus was putting him through. He promised himself right there that he’d never underestimate this man again. 

“You’re beautiful,” Papyrus was heard whispering as their kiss broke, “And I’m sure, if I play my cards right, I’ll be able to see you do that again tonight!”

Mettaton promised himself that he’d never underestimate this man _again_ and brought his heavenly mouth back to his own. If either of them were distressed by anything before entering the bedroom, it was completely forgotten now. All grievances were washed away and replaced with dirty feelings of perverse love making. 

“How do you want to continue?” Papyrus asked when he felt Mettaton perk back up from his sexual high. 

“You choose,” Mettaton replied, “Anything you want, Papyrus, anything in the world.”

It took only a second’s thought for Papyrus to reply. “I want to take you... from behind.” Papyrus looked into Mettaton’s eyes for his reaction, stroking his cheek as he did so. “If you’d let me?”

Mettaton’s parted lips watered. “ _Let_ you? Pappy, I’ve never heard anything more appealing in my life.”

Before he could be prompted any further, Mettaton slid onto his front, body moving like silk against his sheets. Papyrus hummed with delight at the sight he was greeted with. He quickly let his smooth hands run over Mettaton’s plump backside, squeezing the synthetics, spreading the cheeks... He found he was hardly able to contain his excitement when Mettaton wiggled his hips at him teasingly. 

“It would be easier if you were more--” Papyrus grasped Mettaton’s hips and pulled them up until he was up on his knees. 

Mettaton steadied himself on his elbows, looking behind himself to see Papyrus lining himself up with his entrance. Growing flustered once more, he snapped around again, staring at the wall ahead like it was the most interesting thing in the world. This way, he could focus wholly on the feeling of Papyrus’ cock pushing into him...

He was gentle. Initially. He started by pushing in an inch at a time, slowly and tenderly, like one wrong move could potentially end the robot up in hospital. Mettaton was tight and Papyrus was oversized, a match made in heaven for those who were brave enough. Luckily enough for the both of them, Mettaton was feeling an extra dose of bravery that night, coupled with the magic tonic that was primal lust. He could have taken anything in that moment.

In an attempt to encourage him, Mettaton groaned and rolled his hips. “You feel so good, Papyrus. If only I could feel... a little more?”

Papyrus took the hint with both hands, literally. He held onto Mettaton’s hips and slammed in until his pelvis brushed against his soft ass. 

Mettaton choked out a moan, quickly finding a new appreciation for feeling full. Something he’d never really experienced with Danny in the past.

Papyrus, on the other hand, was trying to keep his mind from spinning. Instead of focusing on the never-ending chorus of _God, I’m currently having sex with Mettaton_ that was playing in his head, he thought about what he could feel; like the way he could feel Mettaton tense around his cock, sending pleasured shivers down his spine.

It wasn’t long before Papyrus found himself a rhythm. Leaning over Mettaton, he wrapped his arms tightly around his chest and let his hips buck into the robot’s plush behind. 

“God that’s- oh good _God!_ ” Mettaton cried out as Papyrus buried his head in the hair on the back of his neck. He could hear him huffing with every thrust, sometimes letting out a whimper that drove Mettaton wild.

It was exhilarating, every second only added to Mettaton’s excitement. Papyrus was exceeding all his past expectations of sex by simply paying attention to him. After a few seconds, he even felt Papyrus take a moment to angle his thrusts in a way that made Mettaton moan harder, specifically aiming for his sweet spot. Mettaton could have fainted had he not been so ablaze with arousal. Now Mettaton knew it was complete myth that Papyrus didn’t often ‘touch himself’. This man had done research on the subject many times prior to this, Mettaton was sure.

“H-how does that feel?” Papyrus huffed, muffled by Mettaton’s hair. 

Mettaton groaned and Papyrus took that as his answer. In that same moment, Papyrus sped up his hips significantly, working at that same angle that was making Mettaton dizzy.

Mettaton quickly took to moaning out Papyrus’ name. He found a sort of fascination with it; just hearing it felt bad. Deliciously bad. It solidified what they were doing so completely. Hearing his name spoken in that erotic tone was surreal to the point of fantasy. Hearing Papyrus’ name in his own shaky voice just proved to him that this was really happening.

Every now and then, Papyrus whimper something amidst his fucking. Usually something akin to “God, this feels so good...” or “So perfect, it’s so perfect...”. He practically choked the words out, his feelings too intense or his administrations too frantic to speak coherently. 

He was completely in awe of the man underneath him. He was desperately in love and wanted to show it with every single push of his hips and all the time, he was holding back his own orgasm through sheer willpower alone. No matter how heavenly and other-worldly this felt, he didn’t want it yet. He wanted to hold on to his arousal for as long as he possibly could and make this moment he was sharing with Mettaton, the man he loved, last forever.

“O-oh my God, _Papyrus_ ,” Mettaton gasped as he felt Papyrus’ cock fuck him at an increased, relentless rate. If he had never mentioned he was a virgin prior to this, Mettaton would have never guessed. Papyrus controlled himself like an expert and had the stamina of steam engine. He kept powering on with all his might, every thrust intended to bring Mettaton indescribable pleasure. 

As if that wasn’t enough, just as Mettaton was crying out garbled praise, Papyrus let his hand slip down below Mettaton and between his legs once again. His fingers brushed against his needy cock and he felt the robot judder below him. After a couple more thrusts, his grip returned to his length, holding it for a moment to admire it’s hardness despite the fact that Mettaton had orgasmed mere moments ago. 

Just holding it felt too cruel, however, and Papyrus never wanted to treat Mettaton with anything other than complete devotion. He began tugging at him with keen fingers, delighting in the perfervid moans that he elicited from him. He was still slick from the cum he’d spilled the first time he came, Papyrus noted as he touched him, knowing how good he must be making his lover feel. 

“I-I, _oh God_ , I think you’re _hnf_ g-going to make me come again!” Mettaton said through strained moans. It was just as these words passed by his panting lips that he felt his arousal knock on the door of climax once again. Papyrus was pushing him eagerly past the edge for a second time and Mettaton could do nothing about it but lean into the doting skeleton and ride out the waves of bliss he was giving him. He scrunched his eyes up as he came, huffing out a repetition of desperate moans that grew in volume until the moment they both felt his cum once again shooting from his cock and dribbling down Papyrus’ giddy fingers. 

Mettaton could sense Papyrus’ reluctance as he slowed and pulled out. No matter how much he devoted himself solely to the honourable cause of making Mettaton feel good, Papyrus was enjoying himself immensely too. He was _making passionate love_ to his idol and more recently, the man he’d fallen desperately in love with. He was on cloud nine. Floating high on adrenalin, arousal and adoration with no intention of ever coming back down.

“How do you do this to me?” Mettaton questioned as he slumped back down onto the mattress and rolled over to look up at Papyrus. 

Papyrus sat himself delicately on Mettaton’s waist, looking only a little worn-out from his first-time fucking, his chest rising and falling a little faster than usual. “Was that good?!”

“I can’t believe you even have to ask that.”

Papyrus’ eyes were wide with questions, evidently still unsure of Mettaton’s answer.

“Of course it was good, Papyrus. You’re _incredible_. Are you sure you’ve never done this before?”

“Only in my dreams!”

“Have many dreams like this?”

“That’s classified information.”

Mettaton chuckled and ran a finger down Papyrus’ ribs, admiring the way his breathing hitched as he did. “My my, Papyrus. You really are gorgeous. Just look at you.” Mettaton sighed, “I’m thinking it’s about time you came, my darling.”

Excitement flashed in the hollows of Papyrus’ eyes before they lidded again. He grasped Mettaton’s hand in a sudden surge of passion and brought it to his teeth, kissing the palm with a tenderness that made the robot shiver. Mettaton took hold of his jaw then, bringing him down to his mouth for a proper kiss, quickly finding Papyrus’ tongue venture hungrily into his mouth, excitement shining through.

“Are you sure you’re not too tired?” Papyrus whispered when he broke free, “I wouldn’t mind!”

“Me? Tired? On a night like this? Darling, you must be joking!”

Papyrus sighed in what could only be relief and returned to their kiss, sighing happily into him.

“I’m going to give you a break, sweetheart,” Mettaton said as he rubbed his spine with his fingertips. “Roll onto your back for me?”

Papyrus didn’t hesitate, quickly obeying Mettaton’s request. He watched with curiosity as Mettaton pulled himself on top of him, ass hovering just over his crotch. 

“I’m going to be ridiculously sensitive,” Mettaton commented as he used a hand to line Papyrus’ cock up with his entrance, “I can’t believe you’ve... made me cum twice already.” He lowered himself slightly until the tip was just pressing into him. “And yet I’m still gagging for more.”

Papyrus squirmed, holding back every impulse to just grab onto Mettaton’s hips and slam up into him at once. Instead, he turned his attention to Mettaton’s own cock, noticing how it was already hard again, ready to be pleasured. Papyrus admired how easy it was to turn him on, it was almost cute how flustered he was getting. As Mettaton lowered himself onto him, Papyrus took his cock into his hand and stroked it encouragingly.

Mettaton whimpered and pushed down until he was sitting fully on Papyrus’ pelvis. He admired for one mere moment how good Papyrus felt inside him before he started moving, finding his cock felt even better when he was bouncing on it. 

“Mnf, God, Papyrus, you’re so fucking _big_ ,” Mettaton sighed, eyes closing as he found a steady rhythm, feeling Papyrus’ hands move to grip his ass and spread him apart.

As he moved, he let himself indulge slightly in a few thoughts he’d been pushing away over the course of the night, about how terrible he was being, how he should probably stop now, how every “pure” person on the planet would probably condemn him to hell at this point. He merely tipped his head back and moaned, “Good God, I’m in heaven!” 

Mettaton’s passionate words made Papyrus whine, rolling his hips underneath him. The robot was a picture of erotic excellence above him. His makeup was a mess, his hair stuck wetly to his face, his mouth hung open as if gasping for air, begging for more. Papyrus found himself fixated with that mouth; his plump lips looked so bite-able. He reached up to the man who was riding him so diligently and dragged his thumb across his perfect lips, making the smudged lipstick even worse. A surge of arousal coursed through Mettaton’s loins and he groaned, took Papyrus’ hand in his own and slipped two fingers into his mouth, sucking on them with a moan in his throat.

“M-Mettaton, you’re so-” Papyrus found himself at a loss for words as Mettaton released his fingers, now coated with sticky saliva. Instead of trying to compliment him when his brain was completely out of use, he lowered his hand back down to Mettaton’s cock and tugged on it once again. The desperate cries of pleasure he elicited sent Papyrus’ arousal souring. He could feel himself growing so dangerously close to finishing, each time Mettaton ground down on his cock, the feeling of ecstasy was increasing to the point of hysteria. 

Bedsprings were squeaking and the rain outside had grown louder against but Papyrus knew, somewhere in the back if his mind, that he was probably making an outrageous noise that drowned all of that out. He didn’t care at that point, he’d never felt such unfettered bliss in his entire life. It was beyond his dreams, even he couldn’t imagine something like this happening in all his life. Mettaton was here, making _love_ to him, breaking the code of his “loving” relationship with his fiancé to be with him, desecrating his future vows in advance just to make Papyrus feel good. He was beautiful, kind, the most incredible man in the entire world according to Papyrus and he was currently riding his cock, groaning over every bump and ridge that filled him. The whole thing was so unbelievable and disgustingly sexy and Papyrus was so _so_ close to satisfaction. 

In a final surge of desperation, Papyrus gripped Mettaton’s hips and rolled him onto the mattress below. Mettaton’s eyes widened in surprise, squeaking out an ‘oh!’ as Papyrus toppled on top of him, wiggling back between his spread legs. 

“I’m close,” he explained through a huffed breath, thrusting into him with a new tenacity. 

Mettaton whined, spreading his legs even wider to accommodate his zealous lover. The feeling of Papyrus ramming into him so vigorously was tipping him over the edge too, white-hot pleasure that almost hurt coursed over him, that familiar feeling returning to him for a third time. He sobbed out moans, unsure if the wetness on his face was from sweat or blissful tears.

In a bid to show Papyrus his unbridled thanks at his affection, he pulled him down to his face in a deep kiss, teeth and lips clashing harshly amidst the chaos. A mere two seconds into the kiss, Papyrus was wailing into Mettaton’s mouth, his hips shuddering despite their constant relentless rhythm. 

“I’m, I’m-- _gonna_!”

“That’s it, Pappy, keep going. _Cum for me._ P-please cum for me.” _You deserve it, Papyrus. You deserve so god-damn much._

Papyrus let go of the reins then, thrusting into Mettaton with all his might. He cried out and scrunched his eyes shut, feeling himself fill Mettaton with much more than any human could produce. It kept on going past the moment his orgasms would usually finish, going until he barely had the energy to keep thrusting. His hips grew slower and his moans got softer, turning into low hums of delight. He kept going until the feeling got unbearable and pulled out, completely sated.

Before he could resign himself to the comfortable spot in Mettaton’s arms however, he shuffled down the robot’s body and settled by his cock.

“I know you were close to finishing so-” Papyrus held the length once again, feeling him twitch below his fingers, “I can’t leave you like this.”

Despite his obvious exhaustion, Papyrus began pumping at his cock, looking deep into Mettaton’s eyes as he did so. 

“Oh, Pappy, you don’t have to-- I’ve already... _twice!_.”

“And you can have a third!”

Mettaton threw his head back, not able to argue anymore. He _was_ close, after all, it would be a shame to turn Papyrus’ generosity down when he was giving it away so happily. 

It was obvious how sensitive Mettaton was at this point, every tug of his cock made him squirm and his legs shake. He was garbling nonsense between heavy moans, thanking Papyrus every now and then. 

Trying his hardest to make Mettaton orgasm for a final time, Papyrus brought his mouth down to the tip and licked it slowly. He took Mettaton’s bucking hips as praise and brought his tongue back down onto his cock, this time at the base, dragging it all the way back up to the top, tasting all the cum that had been spilled down it during the night. He carried on using his hand on him then, tongue still on his tip, jerking him off in earnest now. Mettaton quivered as he felt the climax brimming on the edge, just one last push away.

Feeling suddenly bold, Papyrus brought his other hand down between Mettaton’s legs and fondled his balls. The mixture of his tongue once again on his tip, his hand persistently jerking him off and his other hand very gently rubbing his balls was all Mettaton needed to fall- tumbling wildly over the edge.

He wailed, loud and unrestrained, thighs clenching on either side of Papyrus’ face. One, two, three more pumps and he was climaxing, spurting white ropey strings of cum onto Papyrus’ grateful face. The skeleton chuckled in elation, proud of himself for getting him there for a third time. He wiped the cum that had hit his face off with the back of his hand and then licked it clean. 

He heard Mettaton laugh wearily, a noise of complete disbelief at the entire situation. 

“Come up here, baby,” Mettaton said, patting the mattress by him, even moving his arm looked like a huge task.

Papyrus was obedient as always, laying next to Mettaton and letting the tiredness finally seep into his bones. 

“Can we- can we cuddle?” he requested, breathless, hoping that their new “relationship”, whatever this was, extended to snuggling as well as mind-blowing sex.

“Darling, I’d want nothing less.”

And so they cuddled, Papyrus on Mettaton’s broad chest, arms entwined and breaths in sync. 

Peace filled the room at last. 

No more bedsprings squeaking or chaotic moans sounding out, just two satisfied lovers resting together. All they could hear was the rain, although easing off, pattering against the window, putting the heatwave that had been building over for the past few months to bed. 

They didn’t think of what this night meant. Nothing mattered. Not now. 

And in that moment, just to hold him tight was to be content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie, 6000 word smut chapter- don't say I don't treat you guys well. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! This took FOREVER and I'm so glad it's finished. If you liked it, I'd appreciate a cheeky comment or something! Maybe even an anon on mtt-metal-crusher.tumblr.com if you're feelin' shy. It really helps motivate me to continue!! Just don't tell me how I'm being bad for writing cheating LOL thanks guys.


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